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Don't know much about this portable solar generator, but I saw it on Facebook and thought I'd pass it along to those of you who use electricity during shows. It looks promising. I'm not endorsing or anything - I don't even know what it costs, am just bringing it up. 

https://selfrelianceplan.com/ppg/solar-generator-works-indoors.php?AFID=ACQFB&source=a0003_post439504326468207

49th Annual A Fair in the Park
September 7, 8 & 9
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
110 Artists

Booth Fee:  $395,  Corner $445

This event is held in the affluent city neighborhood of Shadyside, in a lovely park beside Pittsburgh Center for the Arts.

The Fair is free to the public and draws strong community support. Outstanding live music, artist demonstrations, children's activities, plus a variety of food choices are featured throughout the weekend. Make A Fair in the Park part of your 2018 show schedule.

A Fair in the Park is held in the lush surroundings of Pittsburgh's Mellon Park. An estimated 20,000 dedicated visitors enjoy the opportunity to interact with over 100 regional and national artists working in a variety of mediums including clay, fiber, wood, jewelry, glass, metal, mixed media, and two-dimensional art.

Shoppers will enjoy outstanding live music, artist demonstrations, children's activities, plus a variety of food choices are featured throughout the weekend.

• Rated one of Sunshine Artist's Top 100 Art Shows
• Drive-up loading and unloading (weather permitting) 
• Amenities: free parking, security, booth sitting and more
• Four awards for Best of Show Artist, Artistry/Creativity, Craftsmanship, and Originality  
• Saturday Night Artists' Party with complimentary drinks/food and awards presentation

All Members of the Craftsmen's Guild of Pittsburgh are offered a booth space at A Fair in the Park. Each year approximately 60% of the artists at the Fair are Members of the Craftsmen's Guild of Pittsburgh, who have become Members by passing a rigorous jury process. The remainder of the artists at A Fair in the Park are selected by a jury from a large pool of national and international applicants.

You are voting on a scale of 1 to 7, with 1 being “good heavens, no, absolutely not” and 7 being your highest vote for “wow, I wish I could create work like that.”  (Please see below for some guidelines on scoring.) The average score needed to call applicants to the Object Jury will be 5 or higher.   PLEASE DO NOT USE THE NUMBER 4!!!    If you give anything a score of 4, I will hunt you down and make you change it.  Don’t make me.

Please keep in mind the objective of this group as you view these images and prepare for the object jury in November at Piedmont Craftsmen’s Fair. The Standards Committee searches for new exhibiting members whose body of work, whether one of a kind or production, traditional or contemporary, shows excellence and creativity in concept, design and technique.  

• Design – is the work creative in concept and/or composed well (i.e. marriage of materials, color, form, line)?
• Craftsmanship – is the work well-crafted and does it meet an acceptable standard? 
• Artistic Expression – does the body of work suggest a cohesive statement? 
• Originality – is the work unlike anyone else’s that you know of?

Again, thank you for your time and energy.  I look forward to following your scoring and comments.

Scoring guidelines:

Remember, you are scoring on a scale of 1 to 7.  It’s not a simple up or down vote.  Allow for shades of gray.  Use your 1 and 7 votes fairly.  One way to look at it: use 1 (low score) or 7 (high score) only if the work makes you gasp, either in horror or with pleasure.

Another way to look at it:  (credit to one of our exhibiting members for coming up with these descriptions several years ago)

1 point--These objects should not be seen in public unless your 6 year old made them.
2 points--Maybe these objects would be at home in a street fair.
3 points--Good ideas poorly executed, or lousy ideas well executed.
4 points-- HA!!!! GOTCHA!! There is no 4.  Get off the fence.  Either you’re for it or against it.

5 points—Promising work that is probably worthwhile, but can only be scored completely if seen first-hand
6 points-- Good ideas and strong execution, unique interesting work.
7 points—I am overcome with a mix of pleasure, covetousness and envy.  Damn, I wish I could say I had done that.

Deb Britton, Piedmont Craftsmen Fair and Membership Services, PiedmontCraftsmen.org

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I hope some other shows will chime in. Please post your responses in the comments below. 

APPLY: https://www.zapplication.org/event-info.php?ID=6184

More Information:    www.saintlouisartfair.com
Contact: Laura Miller   lmiller@saintlouisartfair.com   (314) 863-0278

Once upon a time security at art festivals might consist of Boy Scouts patrolling the streets of Ann Arbor at night; Boy Scouts camping in the park at Winter Park or the University of Miami football team being "security" at the Coconut Grove Arts Festival. True story ... 

Then came 9/11. Everything changed and continues to be more challenging. I was staff on the Super Bowl committee in Detroit a few years ago. We had security briefings that included local police, sheriffs, FBI and the border patrol. That was an event with a huge budget.

What has happened at the art fairs as we try to control these hugely popular, sprawling, well-attended events? Who'd attack an art fair? Who knows? Insurance companies and municipalities are requiring the shows to add 24 hour security, barricades, security cameras, train staffs for disasters. I'm sure I'm missing something here.

At the recent Arts Festival Conference sponsored by Zapp in Florida one of the topics was how to prepare an event for emergency situation. The truth: it is very costly. And VERY frightening. I learned:

• Concrete barricades need to be put in place with a crane. How do you pay for that crane? One of the shows found a crane company to be a sponsor! 
• a semi full of bike rack needs labor to get it on the street and off again
• Maureen Riley from the Ann Arbor Street Art Fair said that their security costs have gone up 267% in recent years; just police was up 86%
• Shows hire professional security people
• Off duty policemen get paid double time and since this is such pleasant duty the ones with the highest seniority (and highest pay) are likely to be patrolling

Shows are looking for grants, partnerships with sponsors, partnering with their cities to find the funds so they don't get passed on to you. 

It used to be that the only disaster we had to prepare for was seriously bad weather.

As I sat there listening I was pretty horrified that it has come to this. Why is life so complicated? (rhetorical)

2018 version of the Fountain Hills Great Fair in Fountain Hills, AZ an isolated community NE of Phoenix. I say isolated meaning that it grew up outside the boundaries of the larger metro area but still within reach. This was the third time I've attended this show with diminishing returns this year.

Just The Facts...

Show Hours and Dates: Fountain Hills Great Fair, Fountain Hills, AZ. Feb. 23-25, 2018, 10 - 5 each day but it helps to be open by 9:30 for the early crowd. There is also a November edition of this show. This show can be found on the Zapplication call for entry website.

Logistics, Load-In/Out:

Load in for the show was Thursday afternoon starting at 5 pm after businesses are closed and roads are clear. Depending on your location load-in/out can either be frustrating or less so. I was on the far NW side of the show so it was a little less congested then down near the fountain. I can't help but wonder if my location lead to lower sales, i.e., if I had been closer to the fountain would I have done better?

Amenities:

This show has always relied on the artists to figure out their own plans for food, the usual "fair food" is available. I had leftovers and there are nearby regular restaurants and a grocery store that I've gotten sandwiches from the night before. The occasional volunteer booth sitters came by.

Storage, Booth Space:

Most booths, that I could see, had some sort of storage space behind them. Booths are allowed 4 feet of clear space behind them which was enough for me to put my two wheeler back there and stack stuff on it.

Demographics/Buying Trends:

Can't speak to "buying trends" as I didn't see much buying going on. I guess that is a trend in-and-of-itself! Low end was the rule of the show. Not so much artwork as trinkets were walking by.

Quality/Range of Art:

The range of "art" was very wide. From my survey of booths content was variable. There of course were some high end artists and a lot of (good and bad) craft items, food, ointments and clothes.

Food:

You either brought your own or went to the typical "fair food" vendors. On my end of the show there was the lemonade vendor that is at all the AZ shows and the huge fair food truck/booth. I think a service organization was cooking the obligatory burgers and hotdogs somewhere.

Weather:

I don't often comment on the weather but it is notable here. In previous years of doing this show it was just right. Not so this year. A large cold front that was blanketing the more northerly states made its appearance here in the form of lower than average temps and a lot of wind! It made for a very uncomfortable weekend in addition to the paltry sales. I was hoping for some respite from the cold in Denver but not so this year!

Reflections:

This was not a first time show for me. I know (sometimes) when it's time to bail on a show. Usually it's when your revenue one year goes to half, you think it's a fluke, and the next year it's half again. That was the case with this show so I guess it's time to bail! This show lacked enthusiasm, it seemed as if it were being held out of some obligation and not out of a real spirit of support for the arts or the artists. As is the case, when that happens it seems to be a swan song. I've heard that there is a November edition of this show and of course "it's much better!" Maybe I'll give it a try after 2020.

Okay, now for the star rating! I'd give this show 1/2 ✩ out of 5 and that's being generous. As far as the buying goes, I'd give it  1/4 ✩ and that's being way to generous. I did lose money doing this show.

The jury system is bad - fundamentally flawed.  Each year it is the primary influence on our show year and our careers. Here it is again subject of a blog post.

Posts here and elsewhere bring up the same points.  Our fates are determined by jurors. Bad scenario. Art experts?  I think not.  They may have art backgrounds, they may work in musueums, the may be gallery owners.  They may teach "art".  So what?  Does their background make them qualified to choose?  Are they really "art experts"?  What defines art?  What relevance to defining art (undefinable IMO) have to what people wish to buy?  Does the alleged "art expert" background really serve the purpose of setting a palette of artwork the public wishes to purchase?  To compare: are movie critics correct? Do you care more about what a critic says, or the public says?  Same with books, do you only read a book that a critic gives their blessing to?  Do you only eat at restaurants given two thumbs up by a food critic?  And in the case brought before us here in the blog posts on the Krasl jurors, how can they be "art experts" and one give you a 7, one give you a 1?  Or one a "6" and one a "2"? How does that make any sense whatsoever?  It simply does not. 

And .... in this screwed up system, the voice of the public isn't listened to. You could be the top seller in your medium at a show and short of it being a commission-based show, no one knows that.  No one cares except you and your buyers but that does't mean squat, because the show doesn't care nor do the jurors.  Next year your fate will be determined by what?  Jurors, their biases and the process rather than the art-buying public that came and purchased art.  The "different set of eyes" line is meaningless for the most part ... the concept is flawed. The Krasl Scenario can and likely will happen again next year, and the year after.

So here's a suggestion.  Simplify.  Make the process "Juror Free" (ah, what a concept!  To be used in show advertising!), less biased, less expensive. Heck, maybe jury fees will go down accordingly (yes, and the earth will stop spinning on its axis and war will end ...... right).

Have the show management go through and elimate from each medium those submissions that do not meet the show rules as written in the prospectus.  Remove work that is buy-sell, work that is not creative, copies that of others, displays that are poor and not up to your standards - whatever your rules dictate. But no rating of the artwork.

Then everyone that passes that threshold and is deemed "eligible" is put into a lottery.  Their names in essence put into a "hat" and names drawn until the show spots are filled.  A few more to create a wait-list.  No judging, no rating.  Why would that be bad? Think how that might open doors for artists to be in shows that have never been in?  For the public to see work they have never seen BECAUSE OF jurors, juror biases and the jury process?  No need to "cheat" the system with Photoshop, no need to try and figure out what jurors will look at, mixing black-and-white with color, different subject matter, different color palettes, horizontals and vertical, the concept of "consistent body of work" versus "breadth of the work".  All gone.  You submit what you perceeive to be your best work representing you. Resulting in the scenario that the public that comes may have an opportunity to see and purchase your work that previously jurors and juror biases kept out.  Randomness let you in.  

Option #2 if you don't like that - choose jurors from the art-buying public in the community.  Worst case scenario is they will choose art they want to come purchase.  And that would be bad because .................................. ?

Quite a few artists posted about their Krasl jury scores on some of the Facebook art show forums. I even received two phone calls from artists asking me to check to see if something was wrong with their images.

So many artists posted about receiving one or even two of the lowest possible score of a "1" out of "7" that it makes me wonder if the people doing the jurying knows what that means, or what instructions were given by the director.

Years ago I was interviewing a show director about how their jurying worked. I was told that any scores of 1 were required to be justified by the jurors. The reason for that was because a score of 1 meant that the artist was so unqualified that they shouldn't even be applying to a juried show, probably knowing nothing of the medium they were applying in.

Larry Berman
http://BermanGraphics.com
412-401-8100