Yesterday Connie and I traveled to Leo-Cedarville, Indiana to check out the Art by the Riverside show. Actually, I was checking it out and Connie was judging the art work for awards. This is a one day show held toward the end of September. Yesterday the weather was perfect. It was overcast and perfect to spend the day looking at art.
The show is run by Marsha Wolpi and is in it's 3rd year. Marsha is working hard to make this show better every year. The art selection was good and there was a nice variety.
The show is laid out in a large circle with the hospitality tent in the center. When we arrived the artists were helping themselves to some breakfast that had been provided for them. There were 34 artists in this show which helped to make this a relaxed intimate affair. Away from most of the artists was a pavilion where there was entertainment such as soft music and some dance acts. The sound level didn't appear to be disturbing for the artists closest to the music and wasn't even noticeable for those on the farthest end of the circle.
Connie talks to Artist Kim Rorick about the process required to make her porcelain Clay figures.
There was a nice selection of food available in a food court next to the artist's booths. There was even a pavilion where people to sit and eat. I didn't really notice people eating any of the food in the artist's booths which I think is a good thing. And the best thing is the food and the art are all set up in an area that has nice indoor bathrooms. They were way nicer than you would expect in a park, too.
Connie chats with AFI member Nicole Moore about her unique artwork.
When you look at my photos you may think that there aren't that many people at the show. The important thing is that the artists booths were always busy. I could barely talk with some of the artists and I didn't want to keep them from talking to buyers. If you like one day shows this would be perfect for any artist that lives close to the Fort Wayne area. I don't know how the sales were for the artists. I hope one of those artists will weigh in here.
Marsha Wolpi has 3 awards that are given out to the artists after judging. She also has an award for the best food truck at the show. Then there is also a People's Choice award. Marsha advertised that there was a People's Choice award off site. I could see nothing about this award on the grounds. This container full of votes is a nice indication of her efforts in reaching the public to vote for their favorite artist and food truck.
Prior to the Art Fair the Leo Cedarville Foundation solicits local businesses and loyal patrons to buy purchase awards. They send the invitation in the photo below which is then filled out and returned with a check. They are then given early buying privileges, 9 am instead of the 10 am start time and an invitation to join them for a continental breakfast at the show. When they arrive they are given the Art Fair bucks to spend like cash. The Foundation also ran a contest on Facebook for three $25 awards of Art Fair bucks. Local businesses also give them to employees as incentives and others simply to support Art at the Riverside. These bucks encourage art purchases and kick off the show.
It looked to me like Marsha and the Foundation are doing some good things to make this one day show work. You might want to consider this show next year if you are near the Fort Wayne, Indiana area.
Any artists that were there are welcome to post a comment about your sales.
Comments
Good job, Jacki. It was such fun to do this. Marsha is doing a very good job. She attends art fairs and has a solid marketing flair. There is a lot of room add exhibitors and make it larger, but she has two artist advisors: mixed media creator Lisa Vetter and potter Kristy Jo Beber, who have advised on all steps of the process and so far they are being very careful not to add too many. They are assessing this year's sales to see if more can be added.
Not only was there a food court there were food trucks with pretty amazing food. Marsha told me that they were part of her marketing as each good truck has a FB page and they let their followers know where they are going to be next, so they bring their own customers who then shop the show also. Isn't that a great way to build a base? The food truck judges (one of them a cook who is running for City Council), another a media personality and the third a well known cookbook author also posted that they would be there, giving even more exposure to the event. Smart.
This sounds like a nice place to be. Thanks for sharing all of the information, Jacki.
Nice review, Jacki, the pictures are terrific too. Looks like you and Connie had a pleasant day of "Art Fairing", thanks for sharing this with us.