This was a first-time show for us at one of the nicest venues we’ve ever visited. Annmarie is a 30 acre public park that includes the first class sculpture garden and classes and workshops for adults and kids in ceramics, fiber, painting, drawing, and jewelry, among other media.
The park is surrounded by tall, mature pine trees and has winding paths through the woods and open spaces in the center.
The show is set up in three basic locations: inside the arts center, in the “tent circle” around the open space, and in the wooded paths. The artist specifies on the application his/her preference and it seems like most first choices were honored.
Space fees vary by location. Inside is $150 (including electric), the tent circle is $50 and the wooded path is $25. All artists also owe 14% of gross sales with a minimum of $100. I wish more shows were like this – a reasonable basic fee plus a reasonable commission.
We chose the tent circle as it seemed “central” and everyone would have to pass by.
Setup was easy on Friday. We got there early enough to park next to our space and unload and setup. With few “neighbors” there, we didn’t need to move the van at all.
Spaces in the tent circle were 10x10 with plenty of storage behind. The wooded path spots were open on all four sides with lots of space in between.
Artist parking is at the very farthest point in the large open field that was also the patron lot. When we arrived early Saturday, there were about 100 high school ROTC kids forming a lined corridor to wave us to our parking spot.
It was really comical. It would only take about 4-5 people to accomplish the same thing but it cracked us up. The kids had a blast too. Nice way to involve the community in the show. The same thing happened on Sunday but with a different group.
A local Boy Scout troop camped in the park overnight and provided security. (The grounds were also gated closed overnight)
The show has a $6 gate fee and a “no pet” policy. At 10AM on Saturday, the gates opened and people came streaming in. The weather was perfect all weekend and the traffic was steady all weekend – even with the Ravens and Redskins both having 1:00 games on Sunday.
Artist amenities were pretty basic – a free cup of coffee each morning, booth sitters, load-in/set-up assistance if desired and postcards. There was also very heavy advertising including large signs all over the neighboring counties.
The show has been going on for 20 years and the locals love it as do the Washington, DC crowd (about an hour away).
Sales for us were pretty slow on Saturday but did pick up on Sunday. Because our out-of-pocket for this one was trivial, we couldn’t help but make some money.
What was selling? It seemed like the fine crafts did better than the fine art. Most of the 2D we saw going out was matted prints or smaller framed pieces. I only saw a few very large paintings walking out. Some jewelers did great; the one next to us had a very slow show. I didn’t see any buy/sell. At the same time, I saw painted toilet seats!
During the show, artists had the opportunity to do demonstrations (and could compete for a $500 “best demonstration” award.) The winner was a raku artist. It was another great way to involve the patrons in the show.
There was a big downside to the raku demo though. It was very breezy on Saturday and the smoke from burning newspaper or whatever was on fire in the trashcan was blowing all over the place. We were about 10 booths away and the acrid smoke was a problem for the patrons in the area but also for the artists whose work could be affected (like fiber!)
Fortunately the breeze was mostly blowing away from the tents but it was pretty bad judgment, in my opinion, to set up this demo so close to the other tents.
There were other cash awards that included – longest participating artist, People’s Choice, and best new artist.
Food options were plentiful but the size of the crowd meant long lines. There were “real” bathrooms” (also long lines) but portapotties (without lines) for the braver souls.
There was music on stages that were remote from most of the booths and the performances were almost inaudible from where we were. Stilt-walkers were there but didn’t do much other than walk around in costumes. They were “dignified” (if that’s possible) and reminded me of the masked extravaganzas in plazas of Venice.
Tear-down was super easy. Because we were local for this one, we waited until Monday morning. All but 3-4 tents were long gone. We parked the van right in front of the tent and were done in an hour. There was a plan in place for Sunday tear down but we were in a bar while all that was going on so I can't comment.
Overall, it was a pleasure doing this show. Our sales were not as high as we’d hoped but were still good enough that we would do the show again if it was local for us.
The local hotels had special artist rates but I would not recommend trying the show unless you had other shows in the area to piggy-back on. Some did very well here, some did okay, and some not so well. (Sounds like every other show, right)
There were at least 2 other AFIers at the show and I love for them to chime in with a report on their experiences.
Here is the layout (we were in tent circle spot #20):
Venue is behind the tree line...
Near the food...
