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Uptown Art Fair, Minneapolis, MN, Aug. 5-7

Jury fee: $40; Booth fee: $550; 350 artists

Friday, 12-8; Saturday, 10-8; Sunday, 10-5 T

his was my first year at Uptown, and it was a long way for me to go for a single show (I live in Virginia). But it was a beautiful show, well-organized and structured, and I had a successful show, well worth my time and the expense.

I'm an oil painter, with pieces ranging from $100 to $4500. Many of my paintings are large. Not knowing anything about Minneapolis or the set-up of the show, I didn't know what to choose when the organizers asked for our location preference. I asked for a street location first, and ended up getting a location on the mall.

At first, I was bummed, but as the show played out, I was really glad that I ended up there. The street part of the show is on Hennepin Avenue, a busy street in the center of Uptown. I believe booths there were set up cheek to jowl, and I don't know if they faced the sidewalk or the street, which was closed to traffic. I do know that set-up on Hennepin was Friday morning, with the show opening Friday at noon. On the mall, set-up was Thursday afternoon.

The mall is a grassy strip between two one-way streets. Hennepin Avenue is at one end of the mall; the other ends at a road that circles a lake. I was near that end. Set-up was easy, storage was pretty much unlimited.

Registration is inside a building on Hennepin, and registration times are assigned. I was there early, and they did let me register early. The organizers were very nice, and had already helped me with a series of question.

Set-up on the mall was in shifts. The first shift, which included me, was for people who had tents on the grassy area between the two streets. I had a spot that ended up as a de facto corner, as I was beside a tree. I pulled up, and found that my neighbor had parked in the spot directly across from my van, so I'd have to haul my crap farther, and probably dolly. I decided to turn the van around, and at least get the back doors closer to my spot. My neighbor, seeing me do this, volunteered to trade spots with me, if I'd help her back up. I am a believer in omens and took Stephanie's generosity to be a good one.

Because of what I'd heard about vandalism at this show, I set up my tent but didn't put any of my art in it. I got my van out in time for the second shift, which was artists setting up booths in the street (where we had parked), facing the grassy strip.

Friday morning, I arrived early, set up my art and went off to find my parking spot in the Sons of Norway lot. I'd paid $55 for this; it was about a half a mile away. I am 60, am lazy and have bad knees, and while it was an OK walk in the morning, by 8 p.m., it felt like a long, long walk. My day started well with a couple who had found my art on the show's website (http://uptownartfair.com/), found me on the mall, came in and bought a $1,000 painting. Yay!

I sold four more paintings during the show and also got a commission, so it was a profitable weekend for me.

In spite of everything I'd heard about vandalism at the show, I decided to leave my work overnight. I spoke to painter friends who had done the show before. I spoke to police officers, who assured me that there were more officers on patrol, and showed me that they'd brought in huge lights to illuminate the mall.

I took my paintings off the outside walls, ziptied all my tent zippers, and then ziptied everything to uprights or stabars, and moved furniture to make it harder for someone to slip underneath. I had no problems, and heard of no problems. One officer said that the year that there had been the most vandalism was the year that a bridge collapsed, and all police were attending that disaster. Also he told me that he had approached the show organizers and helped them restructure the security plan.

On Saturday morning, I was able to get a very good parking space within dollying distance from my tent. Parking is a real problem with this show, and I felt like I'd been given a gift. I left my van there Saturday night, and took an Uber car to and from my Air B&B. This parking place was a real blessing when it came to take-down.

Mystic Outdoor Art Festival
Mystic, CT, Aug. 13-14
Jury fee $30 (I think), Booth fee $250; about 250 artists.
Put on by the Mystic Chamber of Commerce -https://www.mysticchamber.org/e…/mystic-outdoor-art-festival

This was my seventh year doing the Mystic Art Festival. The show has been good to me in the past, and was good to me again this year, astonishing me and leaving me very grateful.

I'm an painter, with pieces ranging from $100 to $4500. I grew up in the Mystic area, and worked there, and have friends and family there. It was where I began to grow my collector base, as well.

I have always had a very good spot in the show, outside of the main area, on the corner of a side street with no one across from me. I believe this has helped me, too.

Last year, one of the show's organizers was hit by an artist driving in early Saturday morning during set-up. She lived, but was in the hospital for a while, I understand. That accident made police demand that the show change the set-up it's had for its 58 or so years.

Usually, booths line both sides of Main Street, facing the sidewalk, and traffic flows in the middle. ("Flows" is not quite the right word, as there's a drawbridge in the middle of town, and it goes up every five minutes or so, bringing traffic to a complete halt).

This year, they took booths off one side of Main Street west of the bridge, and put all those booths on Holmes Street, on the east side of the bridge. They thinned the booths on the east side of the bridge, as well. I'm sure this caused confusion for artists and fair-goers alike.

Set-up is Saturday morning, and it's never fun. Storage varies. Some booths have tons, some have hardly any. The show seems to always take place on the hottest weekend of the summer, and this year was no exception. It was in the upper 90s both days, with sweltering humidity. Ambulances went out several times for people who had collapsed.

Parking is always difficult. I rented a space from a small deli across from my booth. There are lots throughout town where you can pay to park, but if you're looking to park for free, you might have to look for quite a while.

The show is typically jammed. People come from all over New England to go to this show, and for many, it is the high point of their summer vacation. This year, traffic was way, way down - but mostly what was missing were people who weren't going to buy anything anyways. There were almost no little kids, almost no one with infants in strollers (why do they do that???) and very few people with dogs.

I sold six paintings. Half were small, but the other half were large, including a $2000 cowscape bought by a person who was at her first art show. The artist beside me, who makes beautiful and unusual dioramas with hand-carved birds, also had a good show. A fabulous photographer next to her bombed out, however, barely making his booth fee - and last year, he won a ribbon. A jeweler who is a good friend also had a crappy show.

There's another odd thing about this show, and that is that private businesses rent space in their parking lots to artists and crafters who either didn't get in to the main show, or didn't even try. This adds a strange unevenness to the show, which already has some fairly rocky displays and art. Much of the art and many of the displays in these areas are very good, but some are not so good.

Someone told me this year the artists were mostly painters and photographers. I didn't get away from my booth long enough to know whether this was true. I also heard that a number of booths were vandalized - the sides cut. There are cops all over the place, day and night at 

I only added the upper Midwest part of the title because you'll want to bring all your gear to this event, if you are admitted, so driving will certainly be easier.

Here's the deal: I'm a founding member of an event in its 5th year. It is absolutely unique in format, and there are two openings available. The event is called Retreat on the Rocks. It takes place on the shore of Lake Superior, always coinciding with the annual, 1-day only lighting of Split Rock Lighthouse. That time frame always surrounds November 10th. The only thing we have as a "given" on the schedule is shooting the lighthouse for the 90 minutes that it's lit up, on Nov. 10th. 

What is it? It's a gathering of 6-8 photographers for 3-4 days, who live together in a luxury home, shoot photos together at any and all hours of the day, traveling each day up and down the coastline of Lake Superior from Duluth to the Canadian border; we visit, teach each other, learn from each other, and just generally geek out on photography. Why is this so unique? Because there are no instructors. No students, no schedule, no rules. It defies explanation, but if you love photography, have a solid skill set, and relish the idea of immersing yourself in the medium, I can tell you there is nothing like this experience. 

The event was founded and is coordinated by Dennis Zerwas, Jr. In our core group, we have wedding shooters, two portrait guys, an architectural shooter, sports, landscape, a travel guy, all of it. Each year we try to add 1-2 new bodies to the mix. Male or female, does not matter. You will be expected to be sociable and bring something to the table. Knowledge, conversation, passion, experiences, ideas...all are welcomed and expected. 

This is a photographic free-for-all, and we have an absolute blast. If you think this is for you, respond here  and I'll get you in touch with Dennis. Cost is about $500. Food is a shared effort, as is cooking. We form a community for those few days. Dates are 11/9- 11/13. You can leave whenever you need to, arrival is the evening of the 9th of November. 

I’ve been exhibiting in art fairs off and on for about 40 years, but only in the past ten years or so have I jumped into this crazy business with both feet. During these recent years I’ve had some modest success and been able to make a comfortable living at it. I’ve been able to fulfill a lifelong dream of making a living at being a professional artist. I know, however, that as I get older it will be more difficult to withstand the physical demands and uncertainties of the art fair circuit.

I currently have my work in six galleries around Michigan (I live in Saugatuck) and I’m always on the lookout for more representation. The galleries and my website are providing more of my income every year, but they don’t come close to the income that art fairs generate for me. (I’m a digital artist exhibiting limited edition prints of my surrealistic take on environmental issues.)

I’ve also had some modest success in the gallery business when I opened a gallery in Saugatuck for a short period of time a few years ago. I gave up the gallery for a number of reasons. Number one was that I was unable to maintain hours manning the gallery as well as exhibit on weekends at art fairs. And, the gallery did not provide enough revenue for me to hire staff while I was away on those busy summer weekends. 

Now I have an opportunity to re-enter the gallery business again. I exhibit my work at Mixed Media Gallery in Douglas, Michigan, currently by highest grossing art gallery. Mixed Media has an adjoining gallery space that will become available next spring. This space is large and has a full length basement for storage as well. My quandary is that I’m not willing or able to man the gallery during those busy and profitable summer months when I will be out on the streets doing art fairs (or, alternately, spending quality time with my grandchildren). 

Downtown Douglas is quiet compared to Saugatuck, the town across the Kalamazoo River bridge. But Douglas is becoming a “destination” art gallery town with the main businesses being the Petter Gallery, Water Street Gallery, the Button Gallery, LaFontsee Gallery and Mixed Media, where I exhibit. I’m thinking it might be fun and profitable to become part of that mix in Douglas.

I’m still juggling numbers, but here’s how it could work for me. I will sign the lease on the gallery space and commit to paying the lions share of the rent and utilities. I’ll find three more (good) artists who will exhibit and commit to manning the gallery in return for keeping the lions share of revenue from sales of their own work. I’m not sure how many artists out there will think this is a good idea, but I’m curious and would like to find out. I guess the problem is the same with all art fair artists. They want to be out on the street selling their work on those busy summer weekends.

Last weekend's Kimball Arts Festival was visited by thieves who came in the night and burglarized several tents. 

Police say sometime between 1am and 6am Sunday a person, or group of people, burglarized seven booths. Two of the items stolen were hand-carved wooden chairs valued at $11,000. 
"I found out about it as I was walking down the street this morning 39 back to my booth someone had some chairs stolen," said Ron Benoit of Woodensound Fine Woodworking.

They weren't Benoit's chairs, but the artist in the booth next to his. Along with the two chairs, several art pieces and a handmade jacket were stolen. A sculpture was also vandalized.

This is a long running and highly respected festival.

Learn more here: http://www.good4utah.com/news/top-stories/over-20k-in-art-stolen-from-park-city-festival#.V7NuIkzpJzQ.facebook

What precautions do you take to prevent this from happening to you?

November 5 & 6
Atlanta, Georgia
Presented by: The Atlanta Foundation for Public Spaces
200 Artists
Deadline: August 26

Application Fee: $25-$35; Booth Fee: $300-$375

The Atlanta Foundation for Public Spaces is proud to announce the 7th Annual Chastain Park Arts Festival.  Named Best Self Magazine's "Best Local Festival," the Chastain Park Arts Festival will transform the park into an outdoor art gallery to the backdrop of vibrant fall hues. This  two-day event will feature up to 200 fine local and regional artists and artisans along tree lined Park Drive in Chastain Park. This is definitely and event that you do not want to miss!

Visitors will enjoy fine art and crafts, a children's area and local food andbeverage concessions including the "gourmet" food trucks.  Local acoustic musicians will enliven the atmosphere in addition to live art demonstrations. This event is organized by the Atlanta Foundation for Public Spaces and volunteer artists.  Best of all, it's entirely free to attend!

The Chastain Park area is rich with one of the largest and most enthusiastic art buying communities in the Atlanta area.  More than 50,000 visitors are expected over the weekend to view the many painters, photographers, sculptors, leather and metal craft persons, glass blowers, jewelers and more! The Festival will also offer visitors the opportunity to view artist demonstrations, enjoy live entertainment, participate in hand-on art activities, and enjoy festival foods and beverages.

The festival benefits a scholarship fun for local artists administered by the Georgia Foundation for Public Spaces.  

Last year was the first time I tried this show. It wasn't spectacular but there was a decent return for the effort and sales were worthwhile enough to make a return trip.

It's a one day show put on by the local arts organization in conjunction with the city government. the show is arranged around a large fountain in a city park. You have to dolly in from the street, but there are two one way streets either side of the venue, so it's not difficult and it's on concrete all the way.

Set up is on Sunday morning starting at 7:00 but when I arrived there at that time, probably half of the show tents were already up. Probably anticipating rain. More on that sad story in a moment. Show times run 11 to 5, tear down to follow immediately and vehicles could be brought in at 5:15.

The staff was great to work with and lots of volunteers are available to help out who also circulated around constantly.

Some spaces are short on storage space behind the booth, but generally there is enough if you scoot your booth out a little. It's a good sized show, but not large with about a hundred artists there.

Last year was warm, hot at times, but very well attended and sales were brisk last year. The monsoons hit this year, and hit with a vengeance. We had just got a double booth put up and side tarps attached, and had dollied in the tubs and propanels when the rains hit. It continued raining until 3:00 with only temporary respites. A couple of the young volunteers, young ladies of about 20-22 years old, gave up on trying to keep dry and dropped their shoes off and were spotted dancing in the rain :-)

The rain came down heavy and a community group across from me had an inexpensive pop up tent that collected water badly on top. Too late they tried to take the corner down to drain the large pool up there and used a pole to try and push the top up and off, but pushed the wrong direction. There was a loud "snap" and the thing collapsed into a pile of broken struts. Another artist was seen using an umbrella to push water out of the EZ-Up they had about every couple of minutes.

We knew the probability of rain was high for the day, about 80%. I didn't expect much traffic and was correct. I was surprised to hear from the few fair-goers (notice I'm not saying customers) that anywhere from 20 to 25% of the artists didn't show. I walked around a few times, saw some folks I knew and also got to see Kathy Oda from South Carolina.

However, it came down to this, there was only about an hour and a half where there was anything like a crowd coming through, and that was after 3:00 until 4:30, and the show creaked to a wet and soggy ending. End result was I sold zip and nada. Lots of talkers, gave out cards to some folks who were looking to decorate further down the road. needless to say it was very disappointing, but I wouldn't have gone out myself on a day like that.

The staff did come around and pass out disposable rain ponchos which were appreciated. One wag suggested we looked like giant Trojans wearing those things. They didn't help much as you sweated so badly under them that you were drier standing in the rain.

I'll try the show again next year as I don't think anyone did very well, and I certainly didn't see packages being carried around very often. The woodworker next to me sold a couple of pieces so they were happy that they made some money, and a glass worker a few more booths down sold a couple of pieces, but that was about it. Maybe someone else from the other side of the show did well and they can contribute to this rainy day tale of woe. Sometimes these things are a crap shoot, and the weather rolled snake eyes for us. The only saving grace was that the rain stopped at 3:00 and we were able to pack up with no rain. 

Now it's time to clean up and get ready for the Lexington Woodland show with more predictions of bad weather for next weekend, and topping that off is with the rainy weather we'll have to dolly in from the street and across wet soggy ground.

Here's a moment when the rain wasn't coming down quite so hard.

Salt Fork Festival, Cambridge OH, August 12-14, 2016.

Cambridge Ohio is quite a distance for a show for me. I try to stay within about 8-9 hours of home. This one was a little further, but I was able to break up the drive by staying with my father-in-law north of Cincinnati for the night.

This show made me feel like I had been "Zapped," if you know what I mean. It advertised a three-day show, juried art show, with lots of artist amenities. There were nice artist amenities. Snacks, water, booth sitters all in easy reach, artist party Friday night, awards breakfast Sunday morning. Not sure about the "Juried" part though -- it was more of a craft show.  There were quite a few talented artists in residence, but the $5 sign-on-a-stick, soap and smiling pillows were frequent. The crowds were unfortunately not frequent.

I set up for setup at the show Friday morning, the last on a row. Once I finished my flurry of set up, I had a chance to walk around a bit. That was when I realized that there were about 12 empty spaces between me, my neighbor and anyone else. Apparently they moved to other spots or didn't show at all. I was watching people come to the end of the line, look and see that here was so much space between booths, and turn around and go back the way they had come. Me and my neighboring booth decided to move to a "better" spot. So another breakdown and setup, but at least the show coordinator was accommodating to us about the move.

The crowds just weren't there. Had I done some research I would have known more about the demographics of the area, and that this was a "rebuilding" year for the show. The threat of bad weather didn't help, but we did dodge the bullet threat of bad weather on Friday and Saturday.

Saturday was decent sales-wise, but nowhere near where I should be. My former neighbor apparently had a dismal day and packed out on Saturday night. Sunday was a one-sale day and the monsoon hit with a vengeance. The bins below my tables were actually floating. At that point myself and most everyone else called it quits and started packing out in the pouring rain.

Bright side, my hotel was nice, I met some really amazing artists among the group, got home safely and woke up in my own bed.

October 15 & 16

Olmsted Linear Park
Presented by: The Atlanta Foundation for Public Spaces
225 Artists

Application fee: $25; Booth fee: $275-$550

The Fall Festival on Ponce is an Atlanta arts and crafts festival held in the historic Olmsted Linear Park.  Visitors will enjoy the gorgeous landscape designed by one of America's most celebrated landscape architects, Fredrick Olmsted St., which was carefully restored by the Olmsted Linear Park Alliance.

An estimated 20,000 visitors will attend this event with over 125 displays of fine art and crafts, folk and "outsider art." In addition to the abundance of unique art, there will be a children's area, local gourmet food, beverages and a small stage for acoustic musical performances. 

This is the 6th year that AFFPS will hold an outdoor arts and crafts festival in the chain of parks on Ponce de Leon Ave. in the historic Druid Hills neighborhood.  This event will be very conservative, with sensitivity and consideration for the park and surrounding neighborhood.

Hello,

I found Artfair Insiders just be chance and I signed up. I recently moved to Athens, TN and I'm trying to get established here as a woodworker. I make a number of things, dulcimers, harps, clocks, kitchenware and furniture. I can't afford to travel to stay overnight for craft shows and I'm even reluctant to participate in local ones. I would like to find galleries that will sell my work at a reasonable consignment rate.

Bob

October 7-9
Downtown Lee's Summit, Missouri
Fri. 4pm-8pm; Sat. 10am-8pm; Sun. noon-4pm
90 Artist booths
Deadline:  August 10 

Application fee: $30; Booth fee; $165 (half booth) to $490 (double)
 

Apply: ZAPPlication.org

The Summit Art Festival is a 3-day high quality fine art event in the heart of historic downtown Lee's Summit, organized & hosted by Summit Art in collaboration with Downtown Lee's Summit Main Street and completely managed and run by the volunteer efforts of Summit Art members, Downtown Main Street members, & community volunteers. 

Lee's Summit is a vibrant town approaching 100,000 residents with very active visual & performing art programs presented by Summit Art, the Lee's Summit Symphony, and The Summit Players.  The Missouri Arts Council has designated Lee's Summit as Missouri's "Creative Community".

Historic Downtown Lee's Summit is known for its many locally owned shops, boutiques, local restaurants and vibrant nightlife.  New residential lofts and adjacent historic neighborhoods make Downtown an excellent place to call home. 

New this year:  Shared Tents

Artist amenities:

• Artist lounge area with snacks & beverages
• Free, near by artist parking; overnight security
• Electricity included in booth fee
• Large festival budget for marketing and advertising
• Excellent artist prizes

For additional information: www.summitartfest.org

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Even more art fairs for 2016? Visit www.callsforartists.com

This is an exercise in improving. I'm sure many of you recognize the hallmarks of display that are "no-no's" at the big shows ... let's deconstruct/reconstruct it. 

If this was your booth at a show do you think it can be improved? If so, how?

The Loring Park Arts Festival had lived in the shadow of the Uptown Art Fair since it's inception 17 years ago.  Minneapolis had three major art fairs on the same weekend including the Powderhorn Park Art Festival.  This was A LOT of art for the public to take in all at once.  Only a few diehards made it to more than one.  Personally I started veering away from all three shows finding that the weekend was just oversaturated and spreading the buying "love" way too thin.  But when the Loring Park Festival organizers announced they were breaking away I decided to give it a shot again.

In the weeks and even months ahead of the event I saw them working very hard to get the word out that the date had changed.  I was especially glad to hear them on Minnesota Public Radio.  They also seemed to be working the social media scene pretty well.  I was hopeful that it would work.  Of course another big obstacle was terrible construction going on right on the main road leading to the park- this was not going to be easy to pull off.

Luckily they had weather going for them- two perfect days- temps in the 70's light breeze and cloud cover.  Hardly even humid.

Load in on Friday was super easy- they know how to work this park after all this time.  I had a sweet spot with plenty of room to park behind my booth and load out and set up without having to move my car.  Everyone was enjoying a relaxing set up in perfect weather.

Saturday started a bit slow but picked up about 11:00.  My sales were steady with two big purchases ($500+).  But I would say a majority of my sales came because of my presence in the local area.  Many of my purchases were from previous customers or ones that had seen me at the Wayzata show I did in June. I did feel like I talked to a lot of people that had not seen my work before which is good when you can start feeling like you have oversaturated a market but I would say most of those new people were not buying (yet!).  

Sunday was a lot slower in the area of sales.  It seemed the crowds were a bit down.  I only got to talk to a few artists in my area but they reported good sales.  I'd be interested to hear how other's did.  Hopefully next weekend when I get to GO to Uptown and Powderhorn I can chat with some that are doing both and get a broader view of results of the big switch.

Overall I really think it was a good move on Loring Park's.  They probably gained some more artists- especially those that travel from far away to Uptown and want to add another show to their schedule.  The patrons I talked to were also happy with it because that meant they could spread out their art shopping to two weekends.  

Little late on this review but here it is.   There was a great review done on AFI for this show a few years ago.  Here is an update.   This was the first time showing in Madison.  It is a big show, over 400 artist I believe.  It is set up on the streets around the capitol building.  Beautiful place for a show.  There is also a second show very close, Art Off The Square with another 200 or so artists that feature Wisconsin artists.  There are lots of artists.  Most of the work is very high end.  Fortunately there are lots of people who come to this show, around 200K. 

Load in starts at 5pm on Friday.  Depending on your section, you line up on a designated street and wait to be let in.  It is highly organized and run well.  You are only let in if you have a place to park and unload.   They have a gate keeper and a person on the ground with walkie talkies making sure there is room for you and the type of rig you have.  I like this but it can slow down the process.  When you are let in everyone parks in a line along the right hand side of the road.  You are given 15 minutes to unload.  We are fast but not that fast.  We had a double so I was wondering if we could get 30 minutes for unloading:)  We moved fast and did it in 18 minutes.   I didn't see them enforcing the 15 minute rule so don't let that worry you if doing the show.  Basically unload as quickly as possible and get out so they can let the next set of artists in.  Parking can be tricky if you have a taller vehicle.  There are a lot of moving parts to this show.  Hotels are not cheap.  The streets can be confusing.  The first time doing any show can be intimidating and this one especially.  We did as much research as we could and arrived early on Friday but basically doing the show is the only way you can really figure it out.  Next time we do the show it will be much easier. 

Booths    are on both sides of a wide street across from each other.  Part of your booth, the backside, will be up on a curb.  You will need to plan a set up to allow the front 8' of the booth to be at a different level then the back 2'.   They ask that you keep storage in the back to a minimum and to keep it looking tidy.  There is no room on the sides. 

The show officially starts at 9am on Saturday.  There is a farmers market nearby and they suggest you open early.  Take that advice and open early, as early as you can.  By 8am there are a ton of people shopping and buying.   The picture of the crowd I posted was taken at 10am.  Seriously big crowds on Saturday.  It is interesting because there must be a guide for  patrons on how to approach this show.  They all walk the show in the same direction, counter clockwise around the square.  They all do at least two laps around.  Once for the inner booths and next for the outer booths or vice versa.  You can hear the patrons discuss their strategy when they arrive.  They wait all year for this show and I heard many husbands say this was the one art show of the year they were willing to attend.    The serious buyers are known to come out on Saturday.    Sunday the crowds are not as big but a good crowd, much more manageable.  The reports from artists as far as sales were all over the place.  In my section on Saturday I watched a nonstop parade of large work walking out behind the booths.   For most of us that were new to the show we killed it.  Many vets were not happy.  The weather was absolutely perfect.  Mid 80s and we only had a little bit of rain on Sunday. 

Load out.   Load in went slowly waiting for each car to come in.  Load out worried us.  We asked a bunch of artists and volunteers about load out so we could plan our strategy and no one seemed to remember the drill.  Here is how it went.  The show closed at 5pm.  They handed out passes as soon as you were broken down and let cars in around 5:20.  We had our vehicle at the booth by 5:30pm and driving out by 6pm.  Easy peasy load out.

Madison is a beautiful city.  The venue is wonderful for an art show.  The patrons are serious about the art.  This show is extremely well attended and the patrons are loyal buyers.  I mentioned on Sunday afternoon that I hadn't seen any dogs in strollers, ferrets on leashes or birds on peoples shoulder the entire show.  The capitol building is a great backdrop.  Find sometime and  go  up to the observation deck and check out the 360 degree view of the town. 

Hotels near the square are not cheap.  We usually spend the extra money and stay within walking distance but I found a great deal at a nice Best Western Plus  about 2 miles away that offered free shuttle service.  They also had great outdoor parking for oversized vehicles.  It worked out well.  The show has challenges, like the later set up on Friday and early open on Saturday.  Staying close by would have been great and next time we might consider the extra expense to have the convince. 

This is a well organized show.  Lots of communication before and after the show.  You can contact the show and get through to an actual person and get answers.   The show has a ton of volunteers and plenty of booth sitters.  You get a packet when you check in that gives you a couple of coupons for water or soda.  On Sunday morning  an organization walks around handing out a basic breakfast and lots of drinks to stock up on.  I am not clear about the awards system.  They did have about 3 judges who walked the show individually.  They placed a dot  in your booth so you knew they had been there.  We spent time with a couple of them.  This is a big job for a big show.  I believe around 50 artists were awarded with invitations back for the next year. 

Over all I would love to come back to Madison for Art on The Square.  There is a lot of competition but a lot of buyers as well.  It is kind of a haul from Atlanta but worth it for us even though it was a single show.  It was a bonus to get out of Hotlanta.