ESTES PARK, CO, ART MARKET, MAY 23-25, 2015
APPLICATION
This was the 16th annual Art Market produced by the Art Center of Estes Park. You can apply to the show on Zapp. The jury fee is $25 and standard booth fee is $300. The application deadline is the first of March.
GEOGRAPHY, CLIMATE, DEMPOGRAPHICS
Estes Park is the eastern gateway to Rocky Mountain National Park. Access from Denver and I-25 is by US-34 through Big Thompson Canyon or US-36 up the St. Vrain River. The St. Vrain and Big Thompson Rivers flooded in the fall of 2013 and evidence of these major floods is still present. Check the weather and road reports (www.cotrip.org) if the weather is bad. Trail Ridge Road crosses the mountains in the National Park and the resort areas of Granby, Grand Lake and Winter Park are on the west side. This year, the road was still closed from late spring snow storms.
“Parks” in Colorado refer to broad intermountain valleys. You have all probably heard of South Park. There are also North Park, Middle Park, Allens Park etc. Estes Park is one of these valleys at an elevation of 7,522’. Mountain weather can be unpredictable, and this is true of Estes Park. During the show weekend, there were a few sprinkles during Friday set up. Saturday morning was chilly and for a couple hours after noon it rained and got very cold in the 30’s. Sunday was scatted clouds and a few sprinkles. Monday was warmer and it was only chilly when the sun was under clouds and there was a breeze. During takedown Monday it rained for about an hour and it was heavy for about 20 minutes.
There are many summer homes around Estes Park and in the
foothills. The area is a destination for metro Denver residents and both national and international tourists. It is not unusual for tour buses to pull up an unload their passengers at the show, but they are not typically my clients.
SETUP AND TAKE DOWN
Management tried something new this year, and there were some bugs. Registration was open at 9:30am Friday and it was off site on Wonderview Avenue. PDF maps had been sent out prior to the show and being a “map guy” I took them literally. I approached the registration area from the west and there was no signage. I saw the “red trolley” in the on-deck parking area and thought it was a food vender. I went to the Stanley Hotel Parking lot where registration was shown on the map. Nothing there, so we went down to the Safeway lot and there was nothing there either. I went farther down the hill to the Art Center parking lot and nothing there so I decided to go back up Wonderview. That was when I saw the purple art show information sign at the corner of US 34 (main road in from the east) and Wonderview. There were more signs up the road leading back to the “red trolley”. Everything was at the on deck parking area. I was early, so it wasn’t a big deal.
You check in, get your booth assignment, then they radio down to Bond Park that you are coming down to park. The second snafu was the volunteers not being real familiar with two-way radios, and it took a bit for them to figure it out. The procedure, which I like, is to park, unload your stuff, move your vehicle off site, then set up your booth. There was none of this parking in front of your and your neighbors’ booths while you dink around unloading and setting up for several hours. There was a designated trailer parking area with a shuttle back to the show.
Take Down was similar. You took your booth down and then you were allowed to bring your vehicle into a parking area to load your stuff. There was no congestion created by people parking vehicles in front of their booth site for hours while they took down and loaded. No one had to dolly farther than 40 yards.
SALES AND ANALYSIS
I have done the Estes Park Art Market in five f the last six years. It started out as a solid $2K sales show for me and last year sales were a little over $3K. Therefore I went this year with financial expectations of $3K sales. I missed this target by $130, so I still consider it a show I will apply to again. Crowds were down Saturday and Sunday but there were more people than usual on Sunday. Saturday’s sales exceed ethos of 2014 by about $300 despite the very cold afternoon weather. My sales on Sunday and Monday were a little over $700 both days. I had 44 sales and the average sale was $65.24. Individual sales ranged from $2.50 for a bandana (sold with leather napkin rings) to $205 for a belt and silver buckle.
Sales would have been better if eastern Colorado had not been
going through an extended period of rain. On top of this, there was hail and a few tornadoes out on the flatlands. People in the Denver metro area probably figured the weather would not be any better up in the mountains, so they stayed home. Another factor was Trail Ridge Road not being open. Driving the road is an attraction for motorists and motorcycle clubs. The latter were noticeably absent this year.
The road closure also prevented tourists from the Winter Park, Granby and Grand Lake resort areas on the west side of Rocky Mountain National Park from coming over the Estes Park. I think this was the cause of an apparent lower affluence of the overall crowd this year.
AMMENITIES ETC.
The Art Center provided a very thorough pre-show information packet. Besides the usual check in and set up information, there were tips about the weather, wildlife and adjusting to the high altitude. They also provided maps of the Estes Park region. An artists’ reception was held Saturday night at the Art Center Gallery. We were too tired and cold to go. There was coffee every morning and booth sitters were available. There w
as a kid’s area with bubbles, hula-hoops, face painting, and art projects of making masks and quilt squares. There was a silent auction of donated art. If you completed the exit survey, there was a drawing for $100 off next year’s booth fee.
We usually hike in the Park or nearby after the show, but this year we decided to go home and take advantage of the change in the weather to get yard work done. We could have gone snowshoeing just as easily this year.
Photo: Longs Peak, 14,259’ obscured by clouds drifting across the high country. That is a lot of snow on the mountains for late May!
