I so apologize---one of my biggest complaints is not enough information and then I committ the crime.  Can anyone share about the "Long Grove Art Fest", held in Long Grove, Illinois, August 14-15, 2010, sponsored by the Long Grove city chamber?  Thanks.

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  • I did the Long Grove Fine Art show for the first time this year in Long Grove, Illinois. I understand they switched locations and we were all on an asphalt parking lot which is fine but given the temperature and heat that weekend, the heat radiated up and everyone was sporting sunburns and heat exhaustion.
    A storm went through Friday night after set up and some tents, even weighted with cement were found in spots far away, several collapsed, some rolled across the lot! Saturday sales were non-existant: $40 and I lowered some of my 16x20 lithos from $100 to $30 just to move them.
    People were not buying.. lots of lookers for smaller items. I made my booth fee exactly but there were still dinners, expenses to get there. I heard my neighbors say they wouldn't return.. nice show but bottom line you have to pay the rent. The staff couldn't have been nicer, ...always coming around to give you bottled water and taking orders for lunch which they delivered to your booth. One neighbor across from me said he made $40 all day on Sunday. The ribbons went to a crafter (fine wood inlay mirrors) and red ribbon to a jeweler from Florida that I know of. We had to walk quite a ways from the local elementary school to the show. Can't imagine someone with health problems walking that. Plus we compete with many, many shops within walking distance. Another complaint I heard is that they let in many commercial businesses: roofing materials, bath fitters, insurance companies etc. More buyers on Sunday once the heat came down a few degrees, but we all noticed very few bought....mostly $30-$40 items sold. Bottom line, August is a tough time to do shows with the heat and storms that are prevalent in the north Chicago area.
  • My feeling on the Long Grove show is that people from Chicago DO come to the show. Long Grove is a boutique shopping town in Lake County, IL. (the county waaay up in the top corner of the state). The people who run the show are very artist friendly, but I would say the awards are more biased towards fine craft work. Sales aren't fantastic, artist quality ranges, and sales are probably best for $50 and under, but it's a nice easy show to do (except parking is a long walk away) Weather can be an issue here. In the three years I've done the show, I've had to leave early twice because of tornado warning and severe storm threats, but was encouraged to get out and be safe by the promoters, who assured artists they would not be penalized for leaving early. But! if it rains, customers do seem to wait it out and appear again when the rain stops. I may be biased because I only live 15 minutes away from the show, but I do it every year.
  • If do not have a strong mailing list for the show just skip the show. You will think that is a good show but people just go to the show for a walk.
  • What's Long Grove?

    One of the artists biggest complaints about ZAPP is you don't know the location of a show based on name only. Let's not let it happen here also.

    Larry Berman
    Digital Jury Services
    http://BermanGraphics.com
    412-401-8100
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