That's right I am going to give you my honest, and maybe not so fair Fall Festival review.
We have just finished show number 7 of 13, and it was a terrible show. We were at Avondale Autumn Festival this past weekend and I have to say that it was not advertised enough and there were NO signs leading into the neighborhood where the festival was held. Some of the people, the few that came, had mentioned to me in talking that they really had a hard time finding the festival. What could have been a good festival had the promoters done their job, which is to MARKET THE SHOW, we might have had a good weekend and entertained the thought of returning next year. Ladies, you really need to do a better job. Diane's FF Review gives this show a 5 thumbs DOWN !!!
Last weekend we were in Lookout Mountain Tenn, at the Ketner's mill show. Not bad for a country festival, but not really good enough since we had to travel. Good crowds, well advertised. Great mountain views, CLEAN air, cool temperatures, and a great meal on Sunday at the festival of Beans, Greens and a piece of cornbread !!! Diane's FF Review gives this show 4 thumbs UP !!!!
The weekend of October 11 & 12, we were at the Brookhaven Arts Festival. We have done this show since it's inception, 5 years ago. It started out as a one day show, all art, all handmade, NO buy/sell, Thank you Gretchen ! Last year our sales were down from the year before, in fact it was our best show, sales wise for 2 years in a row, but last years sales started to decline, and this year even more. My thoughts are more advertising is needed, promotion of the artists, not just the festival as a whole. Gretchen Roberts, you do a great job and I will wait until after November to apply, as I know that the fees will go up an additional $25.00 to help cover the cost of more advertising. Diane's FF Review gives this show 4 thumbs UP !!
October 4&5, had us at the WORLD FAMOUS Norcross Art Festival. This is the BEST show in the metro area, hands down ! Frances Schube puts on a fabulous festival. She has the entire communities volunteers help with everything from checking in to unloading your vehicle, to passing out FREE bottle water, to manning a air-conditioned hospitality center with a REAL bathroom. Our sale have been THE BEST 2 years running at this show. This was our 5th year at Norcross, and we'll be these again on 09. Thank you Frances for all of your hard work and marketing of this show. Did you know that Frances had CNN at the festival interviewing artists and have 2 TV commercial 2 days before the show. Great Job Frances !!! Diane's FF Review gives this show 5 thumbs UP !!!!
Well I hope that my thoughts are helpful to my fellow artists and that you can use this to help in getting your 2009 show schedule planned.
Please follow my blog for more festival information !!
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6 comments:
Great reviews; very professional, honest and to the point. I am just wondering where you are getting all the thumbs from?
ROFL, Winslow's mom!
Well, between Diane and her sister they have four, and the fifth they stole from someone who didn't promote his or her show.
As for the Avondale show, I am sorry! There were signs directing people to the festival--I saw them when I came in--but they were small, and not labeled with the show name. It's a pity; it's a beautiful location. All the same, I should have brought you MUCH more beer.
Thanks for these honest reviews, Diane. They will be helpful to many. Word-of-mouth is the artists best friend (well, maybe remuneration is). I am posting this link on my blog and would be happy to receive other reviews from you in the future, http://www.artfairinsider.com.
Wishing you many thumbs in 2009.
nice job! We definitely have more festivals coming up, and you may want to remind everyone of that horrible fiasco last year at that church show.!!!
Oh and everyone has to get directions etc. for the I.C.E. show on the 15th. -Sharon
Hi Diane - What a fantastic idea to blog the shows. I know the Ketners Mill show is usually a GREAT show and I hope you did decent. The promotors are wonderful people to work with and will go out of their way to help the vendors. I did that show for 7 years and it never let me down! I would have continued, but I had to take the 18 day show and they conflicted. Good luck the rest of the year!! You and Donna & Joanie are the greatest!
I agree that promotion is the key to success for any show, and I also agree that the marketing/advertising/PR person needs to find some compelling stories about the artists and their work to get the attention of the media and the public. For the past three years I have been in charge of promoting the Palm Beach Fine Craft Show, and I must say the hardest part of my job is deciding on a handful of artists and a 'reasonable' selection of images to focus on in my press kit and other publicity efforts. For the artists, I can't stress enough the importance of providing the PR person with hi-quality, hi-resolution images (300 dpi min.), along with a brief description of what is seen in the image. Any background you can provide on yourself is also helpful. As I always say, the more the better!
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