2009 Jefferson County Fair

Jefferson County Fair, Madras, OR July 22-25

Absolutely the worst County Fair we have ever sold at. Our vendor booths were located in an obscure area of the fairgrounds. Grass field in front of us had many droppings from the cow family. The public could care less about buying from the vendor.

Very poor lighting in our area and extremely bad accessability for the visitors. Spoke to Sandy Foreman who was in charge of the vendors and told me that she would 'get back to me that afternoon.' Never did. Could care less. They got their money from us. Put the 6 vendors in a corner and forget about us. Vendors, do not even think about doing this event. The Worst.

Please click here to read more about the Jefferson County Fair

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30th Castroville Artichoke Festival

Sat/Sun May 16-17. This event is held in Castroville which is located approx 20 miles north of Monterey on Highway 156. We will be there selling shell necklaces, shell creations, wrap-around skirts & sarongs and a whole lot more. DandL CREATIONS

On May 16 and 17, 2009, they will be celebrating the 50th annual Artichoke Festival in the community of Castroville, in Monterey County, California. This two-day festival draws large crowds of people who enjoy arts & crafts, tasty food, musical entertainment, cooking demonstrations, a car show and a parade. Last year’s festival was their best yet! Click here for vendor application.

AGRO ART Competition: AGRO art is 3-dimensional fruit and vegetable artwork. This quirky competition fosters imagination, creativity and fun for both participants and the viewing public.

PARADE: Our sanctioned parade is one of the largest and most colorful of its kind.
MUSICAL ENTERTAINMENT: Two days of live music! Everything from Swing to Mariachi, Country to 50's Rock & Roll.
CHILDREN'S ACTIVITIES: Games, face paints, clowns, stilt walkers, puppets and more!FOOD: Artichokes fried, sautéed, grilled, marinated, pickled, fresh, and creamed in soup. Plus foods from the many ethnic groups that give this area its character.
FOOD: Artichokes fried, sautéed, grilled, marinated, pickled, fresh, and creamed in soup. Plus foods from the many ethnic groups that give this area its character.
COOKING DEMOS: The area's finest showcase the versatility and unique techniques for preparing and using artichokes.
WINE TASTING: Sample the best from the area's award winning producers.
ARTS & CRAFTS: Unique gifts and apparel crafted by artisans from throughout the country. Plus artichoke souvenirs galore!
FARMERS MARKET: Artichokes and more, fresh from the heart of the salad bowl.
FIELD TOURS: Hop a bus to the artichoke patch for grower talks and photo ops.
Please No Pets. (I second that motion!)

Please visit Starving Vendors where I have placed many of my reviews of events that we have done. Check out our new forum, where you can comment on shows, promoters, etc. Brand new.

Rinconada Hills Center Bazaar - Los Gatos, CA

Ronconada Hills Center Bazaar. Saturday, March 28 from 9AM-4PM. I guess this is a new location for this promoter's show and is held the last Saturday of the month from 9AM-4PM. Located at 1500 Pollard Road at the shopping center. click here for more info. Alpha Zeta Events. Click on the 'poster' to see larger image.

Tucson 4th Avenue Street Fair

THE NEXT TUCSON 4TH AVENUE STREET FAIR IS March 20-21-22. There are two Street Fairs per year, one in spring and one in winter. The The Street Fair takes place between Ninth Street and University Blvd. along Fourth Avenue. Free to the public, the Fourth Avenue Street Fair brings together 400+ arts and crafts booths, 35+ food vendors, 2 stages, street musicians, food, jugglers, street performers, “VAN GROW” kids hands-on-art area, face painting, balloons, and tons of other fun activities, then packs them into three days of celebration.

The Fourth Avenue Street Fair began in 1970 when Fourth Avenue merchants put tables in front of their stores to attract customers before the holidays. From that beginning it has developed into one of the premier street fairs in the nation, drawing crowds of 200,000 to 350,000 and ranking as one of the top visual arts fairs in the country.

Venues for Vendors: A bit pricey for this three day event. There are at least three promoters of booth spaces within the show.

The Parking Lot. Set up your booth in The Parking Lot (TPL), at the heart of the Tucson 4th Avenue Street Fair, just a few short blocks from the University of Arizona. Located on the corner of 4th Avenue and 5th Street (Tucson, Arizona), TPL provides a prime location for vendor booth rentals at one of the largest street fairs in the United States. The 4th Avenue Street Fair is free to the public. Too late for November...next event is March 20-22. We've done this lot several times. Good location. Near middle of event. However, high school groups playing alongside are quite loud. Porta potties next to the lot. Paved. Long line for the tri-tip sandwiches next door...must be great!!! Traffic flow is somewhat okay. Maybe 10 percent of passers-by enter the lot. Not too much of a difference if you are located in the back. They do walk all the way around. Commercial goods accepted.

Dingwell's Lot. 238 N. 4th Avenue, Tucson, AZ. Contact Don Dingwell 520-882-5657. Need to call him for fees. No website or email address. We were in his lot a couple years ago and there was rain and it turned quite muddy. When dry, the sand blows all over the place. However, you can get into this lot with general merchandise (commercial) and there is really great traffic flow...even though most of the people walk in..go all the way to the end and around the garbage can and go out. This is toward the beginning of the show, so you get a lot of lookers, but they are not tired from walking around.

International Lao New Year Festival 2009

2009 INTERNATIONAL LAO NEW YEARS FESTIVAL
Civic Center Plaza, San Francisco, CA

Saturday, April 11, 200 910 AM - 5 PM all day - free event
Civic Center Plaza (link to googlemaps)between Asian Art Museum and City Hall San Francisco, California.

vendors: • Main Entrance Booths $1,500• Food Booths $1,200 2nd booth $600 (does not include health and food permits from City of San Francisco) • Businesses $900 • Arts/crafts/textiles $700
• Non-profits/public service $350

Buddha Image Procession and Parade
Suukhwan/Baci New Year Welcoming Ceremony
“Buffalo Roaming” - Story Writing on Life Size Herd of Water Buffalos
Kato Lao Championship Demonstration
Tam Maak Huung/Green Papaya Salad Contest

Kite Making and Kite Flying

New Year Water Splashing Activities
Khene Music with Master Bounseung Synanonh
Lam Folk songs with Mr. Khamta Mounisay
Jonny Olsen
Traditional Music and Dance Performances

click here to see program listing

Craft Show Vendor Liability Insurance

IMPORTANT:  I have written a book about our experiences selling at Street Fairs, festivals, A&C Shows, fairs, flea markets.  I know that you will really find reading it quite enjoyable and you'll be able to relate to a lot of things that I describe.  Having to endure 71 mph winds, heavy rains, floods, lying and cheating promoters.  You'll love it.  Only $14.95.  Street Fairs for profit, fun and madness

I have been compiling a listing of companies that offer insurance for vendors at craft shows, festivals, etc.

Specialty Insurance Agency. I looked at their website and it's hard to find info about policies. The policies run from September to August and it's roughly $350 per year. You really need to wait until September in order to get your money's worth. I have a friend who is insured through them and he says they are excellent. They also have an ad in Craftmaster News (pg 121 Feb/Mar issue) paper issue. You may subscribe to this publication. Best around.

Center West Insurance Agency. Tel 800-455-6974. centerwestinsurance@lanset,com I saw their ad in Craftmaster and looked at their website but didn't see anything about specific policies. Recommend emailing them for info.

RLI Home Business Insurance. This looks like it might be decent. Check it out.

To see more, please visit my website for the complete listing

If you know of any others, please let me know.... thank you

Contemporary Crafts Market - San Francisco

2009 Contemporary Crafts Market. March 14-15, 2009.
Festival Pavilion, Fort Mason Center, San Francisco, CA.
View their website for more info and listing of vendors.

10:00 am - 5:00 pm, DailyAdmission $7, Children 12 & Under FREE(San Francisco, Calif.) The Contemporary Crafts Market will return to San Francisco’s historic Fort Mason Center March 14-15, 2009, and will showcase over 230 of the nation’s finest artists and their distinctive works.

As the premiere event for one-of-a-kind functional and decorative crafts, the show will present a broad range of pieces including intricate jewelry, unique glassware and ceramics, hand-painted textiles, custom furniture, mixed-media creations and much more. All items on display and for sale have been jury-selected for their exceptional quality.

All the work in these shows is made by the participating artists. All the artists are residents in the United States. The participants have undergone a rigorous screening process to qualify as participants in this show and we are proud to showcase them.