Mostly not a good idea...restaurants, salons. etc, have to pay for everything that comes through their door, but they feel that their wall decorations should be free...after all their giving you this fabulous "exposure". However, if you're going to it here is some advice (yes, I've done it)Get a signed copy of what you are leaving.Don't leave it there indefinately...30 to 45 days should be adequate to see if there is any interest.Have a definite agreement of how and when you get paid.Hopefully live within 30 minutes of your exhibit so you can check frequently.Good luck to youChuck Benwitt
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June 27 & 28 6th Annual Art In The Park Lathrup Village, Michigan 100 Artists Presented by the Lathrup Village Community Foundation Deadline: May 18 In affluent Oakland County, MI, you will find the City of Lathrup Village which combines a historic past with a dynamic present. Gracious homes and planned city growth have provided an ideal environment for convenient, small city living within the larger metropolitan Detroit area. Where is Lathrup Village?
Visit this link. The art fair is situated in and around a lovely park setting that borders Southfield Road, taking advantage of the 50,000+ cars that pass through on any given day. A comprehensive advertising plan including articles in major newspapers, and increased radio promotions dedicated to bringing you the customers you deserve will be implemented. Returning this year is the "
Taste Of Michigan Brews" Mini Pub! This addition was a big hit with not only the attendees, but the artists themselves! The expanded food court will be centrally located for your convenience. Art Fair Calendar.com Our first rate hospitality is always a staple that includes:
* Staff who recognize artists needs * Friendly volunteers to help you unload and booth sit * Continental breakfast each day * Artist reception at the close of the day on Saturday * Spacious booths- 12 x 12 with ample aisles * Reasonable fee- $155 For more information and to download an application visit:
www.lathrupvillageartinthepark.com and click on the Artist Link. Or contact Maralee Rosemond at 248-557-2600 ext. 224 or email her at
recreation@lathrupvillage.orgRead more…
With the arts struggling everywhere, and Michigan being no exception, you might wish to subscribe to this excellent newsletter sponsored by the Arts Alliance, the Arts Alliance Cultural Newsletter. It covers art walks, gallery tours, job opportunities, creative resources, grants, lots!! It is pretty amazing in the breadth of its information. Here is the link for the website:
http://www.a2artsalliance.org/. You can subscribe on the front page.
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The Mayfaire show has a reputation for being a hot one. Every year the participants desperately hope that the weather will be a little milder for this notoriously hyperthermal happening. This year, however, the two days of the show set all time heat records for their respective dates. Sunday the reported temperature was 96 degrees at the airport. We were very fortunate to find ourselves close to an electrical outlet. Thanks to our two powerful fans the temperature in our tent never got above 98. Crowds were down 35% this year. In an innovative move, the porta potty company charged a little extra to report weights of their rental units at delivery vs their weights at pickup time. This provides data on which the above estimate was based. The judging was done by a recognized prestigious juror. I can't remember his name any more than he probably remembers my work. He did do a thorough job, however. It was reported by the Lakeland Ledger that he walked the whole show at least four times before breezing through the final lap with his dot sticking assistant running three booths behind trying to keep up. If your work sucks, it's best to find out from the finest. In a separate round of jurying photographer Nels Johnson took top honors for the best dressed category. Wasn't even close according to the jurist. The setup starts at eleven on Friday which gives one plenty of time to get organized. Nearby parking on the streets isn't difficult for early birds. Speaking of birds, Lake Morton probably has more birds per gallon than Cambell's chicken noodle soup. Thanks to their byproduct you don't see swimmers in this pond. Once every three years or so the City of Lakeland drains off and sells half the water volume to a nearby fertilizer plant. People with dogs weighing less than four pounds have to hand carry their pets to keep them from getting eaten by the swans and geese. Our neighbor, Rocky Bridges the mixed media legend, showed up and built a small gallery out of plywood and 2 X 4's. He then slapped on a fresh coat of white paint. He wasn't always at his booth, but friends and followers were able to track him down and drag him back to his booth to make an 8K sale on Saturday. On Sunday he came to the back of our booth to borrow a felt tip pen so he could sign a piece he was selling. Then this nice gentleman came in the front of our booth to borrow a pen for writing a check. He told us that he almost bought from us until he saw the work next to us and he wouldn't quite be able to buy from us this year. With neighbors like Rocky you'd better make sure to take notes. You don't often get that kind of opportunity. Our sales? Even if the show went for a couple of more days we would probably have covered expenses. But then again we live here. Three of our photographer friends pulled 1200, 1100, and about a thousand respectively. A popular functional potter did 1500, down from over twice that amount from last year. You can't blame the organizers for the heat and the economy. The Mayfaire show usually draws a nice crowd and if you have what they want, they have the money for it. Unfortunately, none of the artists were selling ice cold fifty cent beers. Miss Ruby was selling tomatoes, but she ran out by the time we earned enough money for a half peck of them. The organizers made sure that we got plenty of cold water and on Saturday we had bagels and goodies delivered right to the tent. Starbucks provided free coffee for the artists both days. I will do this show again. Heat and all. In all fairness to other artists, though, I must point out we live within walking distance. If you're a camel.
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An interior designer by training and vocation, Ginny Herzog has taken her eye for detail and interest in architectural elements and abstracted it into one-of-a kind mixed media paintings using watercolor, crayons, graphite, pencils and photography. Originally exhibiting landscape paintings at her first art fairs starting in 1976 and sticking close to home the work soon blossomed into a career of distinctive art that says to the viewer "one-of-a-kind", exhibited at the country's finest art fairs from Texas to Connecticut. Balancing the traveling life with family meant that for several summers running one of her children would be her partner for the season. When one of her kids smashed her van into the garage wall before a big art fair she and friend artist Jody dePew McLeane squeezed all their work, displays and tents into Jody's minivan and enjoyed this style of travel so much they continued it for several years. As she travels she takes photos of the architecture of cities along her art fair route, later mining the images for her collages. At present she is working on a Denver series that she will be exhibiting at the Cherry Creek Art Festival there this summer, bringing a site specific body of work with roots in that region to her collectors. This month find Ginny will be returning to Reston, VA, for the Northern Virginia Festival of the Arts, May 16 and 17. Read more about Ginny and her work:
www.artfaircalendar.com/featured artistRead more…
It's always great to see it when an art fair's PR is working well. The little but lovely Belleville, IL, Art Fair on the Square, is coming up on May 15. Here is an excellent story about twelve artists exhibiting there next weekend. AND, I'm happy to report ten of the twelve do have websites and so will be able to capitalize on this good promotion.
(Did you know that you can use your "My Page" on this site as a web address? When you are on your page copy the url in the box at the top and you can use that---for all those people at art fairs who want to know if you have a website, that is in case you don't have one. While we are talking about that, can you please add a link on your website to this site? The more traffic we receive the better chances I have of selling some advertising here and then I can "keep the doors open." Thank you.)
Read about Michael McKee, C.C. Barton, Mira Raman, Jason Fricke, Sarah Giannobile, Qigu Jiang, Jennifer Gardner, Bonnie Shopper, Suzanne Linquist, Michael Baxley, Danielle Desplan and Mike and Maria Bragetta. It seems I haven't been to enough art fairs lately because I don't know any of them--two are from Oregon and one is from Tel Aviv! Now that's a long way to travel to do an art fair.
Read the interesting interviews: http://www.bnd.com/yourlife/story/762150.htmlRead more…
From the Palm Beach Daily News:
Winners were selected May 1 at the 2009 National City Art Show at SunFest, the West Palm Beach waterfront music and arts festival.
Best of Overall Show went to Ken Orton, of Roxbury, N.Y., who took home $2,000; Best of Show 2-D winner was Carol Napoli, of New Smyrna Beach, $1,500; and Best of Show 3-D winner was Jean Yao, of Fort Lauderdale, $1,500.
Awards of distinction winners received $750. They were:
* Tim Peters, of Winter Haven
* Patrick Pierson, of Palm Springs
* Marek Majewski, of Cape Coral
* E. Emerson, of Savannah, Ga.
* Brennan King, of West Palm Beach
* Emmanuel Moldonado, of Clearwater
Awards of merit winners received $500. They were:
* William Kwamena-Poh, of Savannah, Ga.
* Gustavo Castillo, of Jupiter
* April Davis, of Boca Raton
* Mesa Somer, of Durham, N.C.
* B.J. Royster, of Palm Coast
* Jamie Cordero, of Pinecrest
The judges were: Dennis Aufiery, painter and former department chairman of painting and drawings at the Armory Art Center, and Charles Stainback, curator of photography at the Norton Museum of Art.
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Detroit has the Dirty Show (always on Valentine's Day weekend) and Seattle has its own sort of "dirty show."
"While the first weekend in May was still too dreary-skied to mark a true end to April showers, Seattleites who flocked to the Seattle Center exhibition hall found plenty of joy indoors. Erotic joy, that is," writes Katie Farden in the Seattle Spectator. Bet you'll enjoy the rest of the story: Seattle Celebrates Sex
Meanwhile in Raleigh, NC, in conjunction with their Spring event, Artsplosure, a City of Raleigh public art project featuring original art by local artists on the sides of Capital Area Transit (CAT) buses, will officially roll out on Saturday, May 11. The 12 selected artists whose work will be emblazoned on the sides of CAT buses are Nancy Baker, Samuel Cox, Bart Cusick, Patrick FitzGerald, Paul Friedrich, Suzanne Kratzer, Anna Podris, Ian Sands, Amy Sawyer, Pat Scull, Kaci Torres, and a partnership of Tonic Design and Gail Peter Borden. Read all about it here: Eye Catching Buses to Cruise Raleigh.
And here's an interesting statistic from Madison, WI's, Fair on the Square:
The beer tent has cleared about $10,000 annually in recent years, says post treasurer Bob Topel. That's about half of what it was in decades past, something Topel attributes to changing attitudes about drinking and a transformed entertainment landscape.
"People don't drink as much in public as they did in the past, and that's probably a good thing," says Topel, who notes such festivals may no longer draw the entire community like they did when he was a kid in the 1960s. "Now there's other entertainment options -- bars have music every weekend -- and every town has one of these events."
Now that I've reread the article I see it isn't Fair on the Square, but another festival. I'd bet Madison does better than $10,000 on beer. Anyway, you may find the entire article interesting. It discusses the impact of beer sales on the non profits who run the beer tents. I never knew beer could do so much good!
Here it is: http://www.madison.com/tct/news/stories/449951Read more…
You haven't heard much from me for awhile because I've been in Pontiac, MI, for the jurying for Arts, Beats & Eats. I have been present for many juries, usually as an administrator, here are some recent observations.
This Spring I've run the jury for both the Great Lakes Art Fair and Arts, Beats & Eats, both in the metro Detroit area.
The Great Lakes Art Fair signed up with zapplication.org. Since this was a new event it was hard to tell if being part of Zapp contributed to the number of applications received. We really had to work hard to put this event together and find artists to take part. There has been this perception among artists that all an art fair has to do is to sign up with Zapp and the applications pour in. This was not our experience. We did receive good applications but believe that the reason for this was our own outreach to the artist community, not because of Zapp's mailings.
Lisa Konikow and I have handled the Arts of Arts, Beats & Eats since l998. This year we signed on with Juried Art Services. It was our first year using a digital system. Contrary to common wisdom in the artist community we did not receive many more applications than the previous year. What we did receive was some applications from some very excellent artists who have not applied to our show before. We are very pleased. Arts, Beats & Eats will look fabulous in 2009 and we will capitalize on these new artists in our publicity and promotion (not forgetting our stalwart stars who have been with us for some time).
We would have thought that an event that has always been in the top 25 art fairs would be known to just about everyone in the business, but somehow this year we have new applicants. I am puzzled by this. Is this because of the Juried Art Services mailing list? What do you think? I'd love to hear your comments.
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August 14 - 15 Frankfort, Michigan Friday 4 pm-8:00 pm, Saturday 10am-5pm Market Square Park Coordinated by the Frankfort-Elberta Chamber of Commerce 180+ Artists Deadline: MAY 15, 2009 Where is Frankfort? High on a bluff in the heart of Michigan's summer vacationland, the hidden gem of Northern Michigan on Lake Michigan and Betsie Bay. From the Chamber of Commerce: This very popular northern Michigan Art Fair has been voted one of the top 10 Art Fairs in Michigan! This two-day event provides a variety of artists and food. Visitors specifically look for their favorite artists year after year - We do our best to keep them in their same spot, so they know right where to find them! The fair is in a beautiful park setting with up to 10,000 people in attendance. It is one of the most popular art fairs in Northern Michigan. Artists return year after year due to its popular appeal. What's not to like?
* two days * beautiful time of year for weather * spacious booth spaces: 12 x 12 * great booth fee: $105 - both days! There is also fun for the whole family with all of the downtown businesses as well as a collector car show 3 blocks away, among many other activities that day and great local food. Here is the application:
www.frankfort-elberta.com/event_applications.html For more questions contact: Joanne Bartley, Executive Director, C of C at 231-352-7251, or
fcofc@frankfort-elberta.com For more info about the area:
www.frankfort-elberta.comRead more…
INVITATION TO ARTISTS:EXPLORE SELLING INTO CANADAFREE ADMISSION, TOUR & COMPLIMENTARY LUNCH“ART IN THE PARK” WINDSORJUNE 7, 2009 (SUNDAY)11:30 AM – TOUR12:30 PM – COMPLIMENTARY LUNCHThe US Department of Commerce and Rotary Club of Windsor are working together to create new opportunities for US artists. We are pleased to invite you to visit “Art In The Park” 2009, and explore exhibiting at the show in 2010.Join us Sunday, June 7 from 11:30 AM – 1:30 PM to assess the venue, learn about taking art across the border, and decide whether exhibiting could help grow your sales in 2010. The tour will be led by Phil Cohen, Exhibitor Chair. US Department of Commerce personnel will explain how to bring art across the border. Complimentary lunch & free admission provided to US artists interested in exhibiting next year.• Free Admission ($5 fee waived)• Tour by Phil Cohen, Exhibitor Chair• Visit Willistead Manor House – Art Galley of Windsor Exhibition• See beautiful exhibition grounds – 15-acre Willistead Manor gardens• Visit artist booths – 2009 show• Learn about entertainment schedule – live music, art & drama• Enjoy complimentary lunch - for potential exhibitors in 2010• See show website to learn more – www.artintheparkwindsor.comTO REGISTER: Contact Eve Lerman, International Trade Specialist, US Export Assistance Center, Pontiac, MI, 248-975-9605 or eve.lerman@mail.doc.gov
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Fernandina Beach is a great old Florida town. The Annual shrimp festival brings out the locals and fills the town with visitors from all over North-eastern Florida and Southern Georgia. It is a street party with an art fair thrown in for good measure.Set up is on Friday between 6 and 9 PM. I arrived at 8:30 and set up at my leisure under street lighting. There is always a steady stream of hundreds of people flowing toward the food and music. The fireworks begin at 10 PM.The fair is put on by the local art group and if you're popular with them you'll get a decent spot on the main street. The first two years I did the show I was in the 600 block (the show is 7 blocks long between 1st. street and 8th. street). The higher your number, the further you are from "the party".In those years, I grossed around $5K. The third year, I found myself the second-last booth as people were leaving the show in the 700 block on main street. My sales were cut in half. But I got to watch people sprint for the buses. When I asked a member of the committee why I had ended up there, she told me the spaces were handed out according to jury scores. That means I just missed being relegated to a side street.Fortunately, that year I won an award and was told I could pick my space for the next year as long as I didn't try to bump an exhibiting committee member. I picked a great spot with shade and a corner and, of course, I had my best Shrimp Festival ever. Location, location, location.Unfortunately, during pack-up I had a few words with an obvious armature who hindered everyone around her. It turned out she was a local committee member and our block captain. The next year I was on a side street. Its a small town!You do not want to be on any of the side streets. The first few cross streets are filled with junk dealers, food booths and so-called antique dealers for a half block in each direction. I mean this literally. No other show I've ever done mixes this flea market atmosphere with art, but it all works out just fine somehow. Further down the cross streets are filled with over-flow artists.I was assigned a side street booth 3 times and by the third year, I decided I would drop the show if it happened again. It did and I did.Last year I got back to the main street and had a decent show. This year I got the same spot and did even better. On Saturday, I had sales of nearly $2K with my highest sale being $139. Sunday came in at less than half of that. My neighbor, an oil painter sold many of her reproductions on Saturday and at least 3 originals on Sunday, She had to bargain some but a triptych went for around $2500. She was very happy.A well-known photographer who was across the street shared his grief with me. He sold 2 large panoramas on Saturday but his network was down and he couldn't run his charges until he got back to his hotel. One was a completely bogus account and the other one came back Sunday morning asking for his money back. A jeweler who was doing his first Shrimp Festival did very well and will apply again. A first-time photographer who specializes in European imagery was very near the party (200 block) and was so disappointed he said he would not try it again.Setting up and tearing down in the 700 and 600 blocks is generally easy because it is a wide street with room enough for booths on both curbs and 3 lanes in between. Further down there is angled parking and some irregularities that make only two lanes available between booths at the curb. Most, if not all, artists have storage behind and some even have enough room for an outside wall to display on.Parking is easy to find within a couple of blocks unless you want to pay $10. Then you can be within a block. There is a lot for big rigs and the weekend charge is $50.A judge comes around and either tells you to take a piece in for judging or he doesn't. The ribbons are handed out around 3:30 Saturday afternoon. Checks follow.My esteemed colleague (Mr. Johnson) has written of the food and social amenities so I'll end it here.
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The place to be this weekend, May 1-3, is definitely the Brookside Art Annual in Kansas City.
Kansas City is a place that takes its two major art fairs seriously and artists take Kansas City seriously also, I'd hazard a guess that between the Plaza Art Fair in September and the Brookside event in May that they definitely get the cream of the crop of applicants for at least one of them.
Here's an excellent critique by Steve Shapiro in the Kansas City Tribune: Van Gogh: Wouldn’t He Have Enjoyed Brookside Art Fair?
"The annual rites of spring inevitably begin with three things: the arrival of tornado season; Opening Day at the ballpark; and the Brookside Art Fair. If the first two can disappoint, the Art Fair represents its own pleasures, which rarely prove to be a let-down. It is art, booths and booths of it, from traditional oil paintings to pastels, jewel-work and latterly digital and mixed media; as well as people, young and old, with strollers and walkers, relaxed couples wherein one half of the relationship wanders off, connoisseurs and browsers, artists and critics." Read the rest.
And, you'll like the upbeat report by Mark Clegg, at the local NBC affiliate, including video: http://www.nbcactionnews.com/news/local/story/
Reading over the list of exhibitors it sounded like an art fair reunion of "lifers" in the business, including at least 25 members of this network. Donna Potts does a great job organizing and running this art fair. We pray the weather gods are with her this weekend.
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October 10 & 11 Houston, Texas 300 Artists Deadline: May 2 Fall in Houston, the weather cools and Houstonians come out to celebrate at the Bayou City Art Festival Downtown. The Festival, set against the dramatic skyline of the nation's fourth largest city, was ranked: *the #3 art festival in the country in AmericanStyle Magazine's "TOP 10 Festivals" *in February 2009 named "Best Gallery in Houston" *in March of 2009 by readers of Click2Houston.com, named "Best Festival in Houston" *in the 2008 Houston Press as best festival in "Best of Houston" magazine *consistently ranked in Sunshine Artists Top 50
"It's rated one of the top shows in the country and the Texas economy is far stronger than the rest of the country. I'm giddy about the sales, I'm giddy about the attention and I'm giddy about the weather because I'm from Minnesota!" -Kimber Fiebiger, First Place, Bayou City Art Festival Downtown 2008, Minneapolis, MN
"I love coming to Houston - there's no doubt. I love the city. I love to come to Houston because Houstonians interact so well with the artist. They really appreciate the artists. They love art here in Houston and I love the Bayou City Art Festival!" -Stephen Potts, Best in Show, Bayou City Art Festival Downtown 2008, Palmetto, GA
*Bayou City Art Festival Downtown has a demonstrated history in strong sales for artists *National studies show Houstonians consistently have twice the discretionary income that workers in similar industries have around the country *With a median household income of over $50,000 and an income growth since 2000 of 13.1% as reported in Kiplingers.com *Houston has been ranked the Number 1 city in the U.S. in which to live, work and play in July 2008 Bayou City Art Festival Downtown showcases works representing 19 media formats. For more info:
www.bayoucityartfestival.com or contact Kelly Kindred, Festival Coordinator, at
kelly@bayoucityartfestival.com Applications:
www.zapplication.org ************** Looking for more art fairs for your 2009 schedule? Visit:
www.ArtFairCalendar/callforentriesRead more…
ArtFairInsider member Jann Alexander was interviewed by the Austin NPR affiliate at last weekend's Art City Austin and and they talked about Jann's Vanishing Austin photography series, selling local art of local landmarks to the local citizenry, and making it as an artist in a recession.
Listen to the interview and get more background on the Austin art scene at Vanishing Austin, Jann's blog.
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Ready for a good lesson in presentation and selling to customers, or could you use a refresher? Recently One of a Kind Show and Sale hosted a special teleconference for artists with Bruce Baker, the renowned artist marketing and selling expert:
THRIVE NOT MERELY SURVIVE: WAYS TO IMPROVE YOUR BUSINESS
Over the past 16 years, Bruce has taught more than 500 workshops throughout the United States and Canada on the subjects of Booth Construction, Marketing, Sales, Slide Presentations, Customer Service, Visual Merchandising and Trends that affect the Craft/Gift Business and how to maximize your selling potential.
Several years ago I heard Bruce's presentation and picked up some useful tips we incorporated into our booth construction and sales presentations. Although his talk is heavily slanted toward the 3-D artist it was helpful to us also. This is worth your time.
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There was dismay among artists when the American Craft Council removed flowers and carpeting from its flagship Baltimore venue this winter, then again at its' St. Paul show, but near nearly as much as when they announced they were cancelling their Sarasota and Charlotte, NC, events for the fall of 2009.
Richard and Joanna Rothbard of American Art Marketing sent out the following email:
The Sarasota Craft Show is on! The Charlotte Show is on the table waiting for a consensus from Charlotte exhibitors. To ALL ACC exhibitors This is your special INVITATION to both Sarasota and Charlotte, so SAVE THE DATES. The shows will be managed by Richard & Joanna Rothbard of American Art Marketing who have 28 years of experience in show management, are NYC gallery owners since 1985 and exhibiting artists for almost 3 decades. Booth fees will be substantially lower, same high standards, and we will be working with the marketing team that has made the event so successful.
Further details, Invitation & Application forms will be available on our website by May 7/8. Show dates: December 4, 5, 6. and November 6, 7, 8.
Those of you who would like to see Charlotte continue this year need to respond accordingly. The Sarasota Show is under contract...I am looking forward to hearing from you. Richard Rothbard, www.americanartmarketing.com
The interesting news here is that sometimes it is good for artists for an event to change hands. As you may know Sugarloaf Craft Festivals recently vacated their Novi, MI, twice a year event and the show was picked up by the Rock Financial Showplace, as an in house operation as the Great Lakes Art Fair. By taking over the show they were able to lower the prices for exhibitors for booth space and electricity, a welcome relief for these times. Rothbard, who does not have all the ACC overhead has likewise been able to lower booth fees for his Sarasota show, from $700 to $555 and the corner fees from $300 to $95. How's that for good news?
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October 10 & 11 Houston, Texas 300 Artists Deadline: May 2 Fall in Houston, the weather cools and Houstonians come out to celebrate at the Bayou City Art Festival Downtown. The Festival, set against the dramatic skyline of the nation's fourth largest city, was ranked: *the #3 art festival in the country in AmericanStyle Magazine's "TOP 10 Festivals" *in February 2009 named "Best Gallery in Houston" *in March of 2009 by readers of Click2Houston.com, named "Best Festival in Houston" *in the 2008 Houston Press as best festival in "Best of Houston" magazine *consistently ranked in Sunshine Artists Top 50
"It's rated one of the top shows in the country and the Texas economy is far stronger than the rest of the country. I'm giddy about the sales, I'm giddy about the attention and I'm giddy about the weather because I'm from Minnesota!" -Kimber Fiebiger, First Place, Bayou City Art Festival Downtown 2008, Minneapolis, MN
"I love coming to Houston - there's no doubt. I love the city. I love to come to Houston because Houstonians interact so well with the artist. They really appreciate the artists. They love art here in Houston and I love the Bayou City Art Festival!" -Stephen Potts, Best in Show, Bayou City Art Festival Downtown 2008, Palmetto, GA
