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  Michael Heilman December 21, 2015 at 11:48am

  I   did this show  3 years ago and still consider it the nightmare show of all time.  Definitely  thieves and  definitely lots of  folks  brought by the music and food. Load out was  awful as  the huge  food trucks were allowed to  block  all of the  access streets. At  9 pm the  police all formed up and left and the  street people descended to offer to "watch" your  booth for  $20.

  This was once a  decent  quality  show, especially  when it was run by MICA, but is now  just one more "event" put on by the  City of Baltimore. I  seriously doubt that  it is really a "juried" show, as  a number of  people I know from the show  circuit tell me that "accepted" or not, they  show up anyway and set up. There is also definitely buy/sell.

  I live in the  D.C  Metro area, and last year the advertising for Artscape in our media market  did not mention art or  crafts, simply food, music and entertainment. 
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  Lori Flanders December 20, 2015 at 7:35am

  It's an experience. There is definitely money to be made. With the booth fee hike it got to be too much for me, but I have friends who still do it and can make low 5 figures.
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  ROZ WEINBERGER December 19, 2015 at 11:42pm

  Lori, doesn't sound to appealing
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  Lori Flanders December 19, 2015 at 11:28am

  I have done this show about 5 times. It has many challenges. Usually very hot, and if it's not hot it's raining. Some spots flood terribly and become extremely dangerous due to the water reaching the electrical boxes. 300,000+ people really do show up and there are some buyers, enough that I did the show 5x, but there are also drunks, homeless, mentally unstable, and thieves. LOTS OF THIEVES. They will come through when you are setting up, they will come when it's crowded. They will take anything not nailed down. It's not a good idea to do this show alone. Set up is fairly easy although intimidating the first time. You can get close to your booth, I would bring my hand truck so I could park out of the way and take my time. The large tents are great, but dark and hot. You have electricity for fans & lights. Bring a tent frame or pipe & drape to define your space & hang your lights. You have to pay for parking but in Sunday you can park on the streets, about 5 blocks away for free. If you don't mind driving you can Priceline fairly cheap, not too bad hotels by the airport or in Timonium. Breakdown is slightly more hectic but still not awful. Probably depends where your spot is. The music can be a challenge and brings different sorts of crowds. Serious shoppers come early. Partiers come later. Drunks are there no matter what time it is. There is good art, great art, questionable art and definite buy/sell. You might be next to soap, t-shirts, or a photographer with a 50% off sign. Mixed bag. But, if you can survive this show you will be prepared for almost anything.
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  jeanne cherry December 18, 2015 at 11:58am

  i have not sold there, but have attended (very hard to get in) .. the crowds are insane, but are they buyers ?? not so sure, and I would love to hear about set up and break down.. it has to be insane !
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  R.C. Matteson December 18, 2015 at 10:56am

  Upside:
  Lots and lots of people
  Good sales
  tent provided
  Lots of art, music etc.
  Downside
  Hot
  Long hours
  Expensive hotels
  Hard to get into