Just out of curiosity, how far are y'all willing to travel? I know it's probably largely dependent on expenses vs. profit for each person, but is there a point where even if you know you'll do well at a show, it's just too far away for you?
When I did Maple & Main last year (Sylvania, OH), a lot of people seemed shocked I would come all the way from NY. Especially people who knew where Syracuse was. I was a little confused at their surprise...I mean, it's only a 7 hr drive, and a straight shot down I-90. But maybe I just really like to drive :) (it helps that I get good gas mileage too).
Is a day or two drive to get to a fair uncommon for artists? Does being from further away hurt my chances of getting in, even if a show isn't local-focused?
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We have gone as far as 5 hours. I have applied to another show that is that far away. Both are in north Louisiana. We have disadvantage of not being able to go south as we live on the gulf coast of Louisiana. Must go west, east or north .... so there are still plenty of choices.
I have always been able to fill my schedule (at the height- 40 shows/yr) within a 6 hour radius of home. That covered all of New England, parts of NJ and New York State.
I do shows nationally, and about 8 months out of the year. I will travel about 1500 one way on a three or four show circuit. Texas and Florida are on this list (I live in Michigan). Houston and Dallas are about 1300 miles; Orlando and Tampa are about 1200. I try to book shows back to back to share the cost of traveling between several shows.
One year I went from Florida to Arizona and back to Arizona in a two week period. That was a bit much. I try not to schedule like that any more.
Being some distance away may actually work in your favor for some shows that have a national following. Winter Park, FL; Reston, VA; Main Street, Fort Worth (TX); Cherry Creek, Denver -- all attract artists from around the country. Many regional shows want artists from other areas of the country to apply and exhibit, but many factors contribute to the draw for these lesser-known venues.
So where were you in Maryland?
We have travelled as far as a 7 hour drive to York Pennsylvania, and have been toying with one year applying for the big art fest in Baltimore (I have a cousin there that is cheering me on), and west we have ventured into Michigan, south to the Cincinatti/Dayton area in Ohio. Its good to get a fresh perspective of the economy by visiting another region. Northeastern Ohio is still trying to climb out of that economic funk we have seen for the past 5-6 years, and the market is a bit challenging.
That said, I am open to a 400-500 mile radius around home as long as the profitability isthere. We all know the pain of spending to travel, and the buyers dont show up.... so i research the snot out of expensive shows at a distance from home. And we try to economize on things like food - pack a little cooler, snacks, bottled water to reduce some expenses. And when we dont have family to stay with we discovered airbnb.com, which is a great source of lodging at a lower rate than hotels.
I've also looked at Maple and Main since I use to live and work in Sylvania OH
I just got home from Maryland.. 8 hour drive.. Now it helped to have family a 1/2 hour from the show so I got free room and board. But I am already planning to go back next year and would do another event there if it comes up on an available weekend
I drew two circles on my atlas from Franktown Colorado; one for radius 300 miles and one for radius 500 miles. Most of my shows are in the 300 mile radius; however. I will do a show within the 500 mile radius if it seems worthwhile, i.e. Jackson, WY. After doing Salina, KS, I cut off the eastern half of the circles at 104 degrees longitude, a little east of Denver.