The Holly Arts and Crafts Fair, held on the third weekend in October in the village of Pinehurst, NC. 2014 will be the 36th annual Fair, and it is well run and well managed by the Pinehurst Business Guild. It is a one day show held on the streets of historic downtown Pinehurst. Setup is from 7 AM to 9 AM and the show runs 10-4. All booths are on paved streets in the village.
For the first time in the history of professional golf, both the Men's and Women's US Open Tournament will be held back to back in Pinehurst. This has resulted in a huge investment in public and private infrastructure all of which makes the Village of Pinehurst even more attractive to visitors. The impact for the Fair is that all if the streets in the Village where booths are to be set up have been renovated with brick curbs, new parking lots, street lights, even electric car recharging stations!
Applications opened on January 1 and close on March 31. It is a juried show, juried by members of the Business Guild. That membership changes as new officers are elected, and others terms of office expire.
The application is a PDF which you print out and mail in with two photos of your work and one of your booth. There is no application fee, and a booth (10x10) is $75. We have done the show now for five years and sell around $1500 each year. Pinehurst is an affluent community located in the highest per capita income county in NC. There are informed, intelligent buyers looking to decorate their second home (or third!) as well as dog walkers, children in strollers and those looking for $5 Christmas ornaments. No music, two food vendors, although all of the local shops and restaurants also remain open.
Consider doing this show under two senarios: 1, as a fill in show for an open weekend, you can stay at the Red Roof in and eat an McDonalds and go on to your next show with $1,000 or so you did not have. 2, Come to town for a luxury vacation weekend, stay at one of the downtown inns within 10 yards of the show site, play a few rounds of golf on the finest courses in the world, dine in luxury and go home with the same amount of money you came with.
Not all of the work at the show will be fine art, there are ducks on a stick, hand painted gourds, and some knitted Christmas ornaments. We have seen the quality of the work increase each year. The huge infusion of cash, visitors, and worldwide media attention this summer can only make this a more attrative venue for an Art Fair.
Replies