This show has been going for more than 30 years. Up until the last few years it was in a parking lot in the middle of this resort town. One of the local galleries complained that the show was hurting sales so the city no longer leases the lot on the fourth of July weekend. Instead, the show is held in the open area of a mall and around a lake. The load-in and load out is not fun. You dolly to almost every location.
Here's the good news - It is a fabulous show - huge crowds and really good sales. While I'm sure that having collectors and working my email list helped, most artists had good sales. The location is beautiful. There is a high end hotel right next to the site. Many second home owners too.
I did one wholesale account but all the rest were retail. It was a $10k show. Hard to leave that kind of income, but I had promised myself that this was the last show. And some very nice orders not included in that number. The promoter is Mark Beling, show is mountainartfestivals.com. You have to go to his website to apply, no Zapp.
It seems a bit odd to post this since this show is the last outdoor show that i will do. I"ve done the circuit for 20 years and it is just not what i want to do any more. I'm one of the 'older' artists and when it is just too hard to drag the tent out of the SUV and the weights and the cases and bases and walls, it doesn't matter how much I make.
Show is worth doing.
Comments
Great locations and different clientele for all three shows. I've done all three starting in 2007 with good to great sales numbers and will continue to apply to all. I do live in the area so housing is not a factor. One of the best advantages of these shows are the temperatures. When Denver is in the 90s to 100s on the Fourth of July weekend, temps up in Breckenridge are usually in the high 70s to maybe low 80s – very comfortable for the artists and the festival attendees. The scenery is spectacular, hard to find a prettier venue.
The fourth of July show is very competitive as I mentioned. Your best chance of making real bucks is to apply for all three shows - the fourth of July, one about two or three weeks later and last is Labor Day weekend. The clientele seems to buy only after they have seen you a couple of times. I know that is true for other shows - this series is different in that in one season, you can become a "known entity" - not over three years at one show. And Colorado mountains in the summer are simply fabulous.
The promoters - Mark Beling and Judith Pollock - are artists themselves. They did art shows for more than 15 years and know first-hand what makes a good show for the artists. This is not a fluff show, jurying is consistent and results in a very high quality show. You will not wind up next to the talking monkeys or little kid selling jam. At least I never did.
Judy, this one wasn't on my radar so thanks for the info.
set up schedule varys based on location. it has been in two waves since the booths inside the mall area must be set up first, they set up at 2:30, the remainder at 5 or 5:30 this year. all three of the shows are very good, they have been staples in my income for the past eight or ten years. In different years and economies, each one of them has been my best show for the year. because the July 4th show is the smallest, it is the most competitive, the other two have far better public visibility and easier access and setup is drive to your booth and set up.
Thanks for the review! I can certainly understand not wanting to keep doing shows, it does get very tiring after a while.