Where The Shows Are

Replies

Connie Mettler April 21, 2011 at 1:57am

All of this is good advice. I know people think in general that all Zapp shows are A level events. Not true. Anyone who pays their money can be listed on Zapp, and definitely they are not all A level. Geez.... look how many there are. We always found our shows from word-of-mouth, asking friends for the best ones and Sunshine Artist to fill in the empty weekends. Festival net is doing a good job too. And we definitely walked a show beforehand it if was at all possible. Also, when doing a show for the first time, we always set up early and really scoped out the event to help decide whether or not we wanted to come back.
- MICHAEL ALAN STIPEK > Connie Mettler April 21, 2011 at 10:48am
  
  If you don't know about a show, one thing that works well for me: I look at a Rand McNally map for the city the show is in. The map will give me the population of the city, plus whether or not it's close to a large metropolitan area that might help with the number of people who attend the show. If the town is in the middle of nowhere, ask yourself: is it an agricultural area? Desert area? Deep south? Near any Interstates? All of these questions should be considered to determine if these demographics will meet the potential clientele that you need to have a successful show.
  
  The numbers of attendees at a show are "fuzzy math" and shouldn't be considered seriously, since there can be 12,000 at a show and be good buyers or 250,000 at a show and be nothing but beer drinkers and knuckledraggers.
  
  I also recommend Sunshine Artist Magazine as a good source for info on shows that aren't in ZAPP. And believe me, Connie and anyone else that ZAPP shows aren't necessarily "A" shows. I've done some that have been "Z" shows, with a lot of "Cs" thrown in.
Larry Berman April 20, 2011 at 9:25am

What publication?

Looking for shows, log into your ZAPP profile and see the list of participating shows.

Larry Berman
http://BermanGraphics.com
412-401-8100
- Lin Glore > Larry Berman April 20, 2011 at 9:54am
  
  Thanks, Larry. The publication is actually "Where The Shows Are." ZAPP is great for the A-level shows, but I think Where The Shows Are is a listing of B-level shows as well. My concern is that I think it is a simple listing (no description) that also includes in that listing neighborhood/church/ladies club, etc. Attendance figures are often not what I'd want to count on, and from what I interpret there's no way to distinguish between smaller/local "art and craft" events from "carnival" events with booths of sunglasses. I'm not saying those events aren't worthwhile, but I'm not sure I'd want to schedule around them.
  
  So, for those of us that are B-level exhibitors and those of us who really want or need to stay within our local area, ZAPP really isn't our best bet. I'm wondering if Where The Shows Are is a worthwhile alternative given those constraints.
  - Arlene & Bob Carey > Lin Glore April 20, 2011 at 11:03pm
    
    You may also want to check out festivalnet.com for some of those B level shows. They have a subscription service and you can specify a particular state, area, month etc. Many events are reviewed, and many reviews of some promoters are particularly scathing. Our rule of thumb as far as attendance figures is unless there is a gate, cut all other attendance figures (police, staff, etc) in half. We subscribed to Where the Shows Are as well at Sunshine Artist. Using as many resources as possible, as well a walking the show a year in advance if possible also helps us to determine whether to apply to a show or not...and even then it's a crap shoot...weather, local economy, politics, etc. Good Luck!!!
  - Larry Berman > Lin Glore April 20, 2011 at 10:06am
    
    That's what I've always used Sunshine Artist Magazine for.
    
    Larry Berman
    Http://BermanGraphics.com