January has come at last and with the new year many crafters are ramping up for their next craft show/fair season.
Craft shows/fairs offer an amazing hands on way to get yourself and your product in front of your target market. If you're new to the game they are also an amazing way to product test your market.
If you don't know what that means, I'm referring to the ability to put your new product into the market for a relatively inexpensive cost and see if there's even an interest for it. This will give you product validation and help you determine if it's worth going forward.
For those of you just starting out or anyone who wants to add shows or up their game I've compiled a list of local annual art/craft fairs for you to peruse.
Anacortes
The Anacortes Arts Festival takes over downtown with art, music, food, beer gardens and fun experiences – including an Art Dash that funds public art projects.
Location: Anacortes, WA
Application deadline: March 10, 2019
Event date: August
Booth cost: $380.00
Bellevue
More then 100 artists will display their work in an open-air showcase of sculpture, jewelry, home décor, wood and glass work, fabrics and more.
Location: Bellevue, WA
Application deadline:
Event date: July
Booth cost: $680.00
Bellevue Arts Museum hosts the largest, award-winning arts & crafts festival in the Northwest. They are committed to handmade excellence and supporting national designers, artists, and craftspeople.
Location: Bellevue, WA
Application deadline: February 1, 2019
Event date: July
Booth cost: $855+
Location: OR
Application deadline:
Event date: October
Booth cost:
Coupville
For over 50 years, the Coupeville Arts & Crafts Festival, a juried show, has been known for quality, handmade crafts from artisans in the Pacific Northwest and beyond.
Location: Coupeville, WA
Application deadline: March 15, 2019
Event date: August
Booth cost:
Edmonds
One of the most prestigious arts events in the country. Produced entirely by community volunteers, the Festival is the primary fundraiser that allows the Foundation to realize its mission to support the arts in our community.
Location: Edmonds, WA
Application deadline: January 21, 2019
Event date: June
Booth cost: $685.00
Everette
Purchase art fresh off the easel during Everett's waterfront art festival presented by the Schack Art Center. The entire length of the marina promenade will be filled with artist booths, turning the marina into a huge outdoor studio and sidewalk gallery.
Location: Everette, WA
Application deadline:
Event date: August
Booth cost:
Federal Way
The event features local artists, silent and live auctions, festive food and entertainment. Proceeds from this fundraising event help provide transitional housing and support services for homeless families in the community.
Location: Federal Way, WA
Application deadline:
Event date: August
Booth cost:
Gig Harbor
The festival features live music, food vendors, a Literary Corner and lots of kid-friendly art making activities. Artists and crafts people throughout the Northwest are invited to apply.
Location: Gig Harbor, WA
Application deadline: February 27, 2019
Event date: July
Booth cost: $275.00
Gig Harbor High School's annual TideFest brings in artists and high-quality artisans from all over the Northwest. The festival raises money for the school’s activities and athletics programs, including the Speech and Debate team and the school newspaper.
Location: Gig Harbor, WA
Application deadline: May 31, 2019
Event date: December
Booth cost: $250.00
Kent
The Market features approximately 70 vendor tables with unique specialty gifts and provides great community exposure, total sales profit and networking with other artisans.
Location: Kent, WA
Application deadline: May 15, 2019
Event date: November
Booth cost: $105.00
Mercer Island
Location: Mercer Island, WA
Application deadline:
Event date: July
Booth cost:
Mukilteo
Location: Mukilteo, WA
Application deadline:
Event date: September
Booth cost:
Port Townsend
Location: Port Townsend, WA
Application deadline:
Event date: September
Booth cost: $195.00
Location: Port Townsend, WA
Application deadline:
Event date: August
Booth cost: $65.00
Seattle
Enjoy a unique holiday shopping experience in two historic buildings full of specialty goods by 120+ local artists and makers.
Location: Seattle, WA
Application deadline:
Event date: December
Booth cost:
Fremont First Friday Art Walk brings together a number of our neighborhood’s arts-supporting shops, galleries, and restaurants each month for 3 hours of celebrating creativity in it’s many forms. Art walk venues usually find their own artists, so reaching out directly to the venues listed on their site is the best option or you can email them directly so they keep your info handy should a venue need an artist.
Location: Seattle, WA
Application deadline: NA
Event date: All year
Booth cost: NA
Now celebrating its 50th consecutive year, the U District Street Fair is the longest running festival of its kind in the nation featuring products that are hand-made by individual artists and craftsmen in the USA.
Location: Seattle, WA
Application deadline:
Event date: May
Booth cost:
Apply to be a vendor for Urban Craft Uprising shows. They produce 20+ events each year, ranging from smaller shows such as First Thursdays, to large biannual UCU shows at the Seattle Center Exhibition Hall.
Location: Seattle, WA
Application deadline: Varys by event
Event date: All years
Booth cost: Varys by event
Spokane
ArtFest is a marketplace on the threshold of summer, a gathering place for friends and families, a celebration of art in a neighborhood park. This annual festival of music, food, and art is the highlight of seasonal change in Spokane.
Location: Spokane, WA
Application deadline:
Event date: June
Booth cost:
Art/craft/food fair dedicated to promoting handmade arts, foods, and clothing. They strive to present only original work made by the artist however if space permits they may allow commercially made products.
Location: Spokane, WA
Application deadline: February 5, 2019
Event date: March
Booth cost: $70.00
Standwood
Vendors of any type of natural fiber or fiber-related products are encouraged to participate!
Location: Stanwood, WA
Application deadline:
Event date: October
Booth cost: $160.00
Tacoma
Art on the Ave is an annual summer music and art festival hosted by the 6th Ave Business District and one of Tacoma’s most eclectic festivals.
Location: Tacoma, WA
Application deadline:
Event date: July
Booth cost: $150.00
Proctor Arts Fest is a community-based street fair with ahe goal of providing a free, accessible and celebratory experience of the arts for the public.
Location: Tacoma, WA
Application deadline: April 1, 2019
Event date: August
Booth cost: $125.00
With over 550 booths they are the largest show of this kind on the west coast offering unique and interesting products from all over the Northwest.
Location: Tacoma, WA
Application deadline:
Event date: October
Booth cost:
Vancouver
The hippest, most eco-conscious festival in all of Clark County where people are giving new life to old items that would otherwise have been lost in a landfill.
Location: Vancouver, WA
Application deadline:
Event date: June
Booth cost: $80.00
Oregon
The Columbia River Gorge’s Biggest Harvest Celebration with more than 120 farmers, artisan food producers, wineries, cideries and artists gathering along the Columbia River to celebrate the region’s bounty.
Location: OR
Application deadline:
Event date: October
Booth cost:
Not only does this event support hundreds of artists, vendors, and community organizations, it’s also a vital fundraiser for the Salem Art Association (SAA), a non-profit established in 1919.
Location: Salem, OR
Application deadline: February 10, 2019
Event date: July
Booth cost: $570.00
I hope that you find a great variety of shows to participate in and that you have an excellent year ahead of you!
If there's another amazing show not listed here please feel free to send a link, I'd love to check it out.
'til next time,
Misty
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