Welcome to the 15th annual 200 Best!
When you consider the many thousands of art and crafts shows held annually throughout the United States, it gives you great admiration for those 200 events lucky - and deserving - enough to make our list. And even though that list may be less than perfect, we're proud that it's YOUR list, based upon your feedback. So without any further ado (and we'll spare you the drum roll and trumpet fanfare, too), let's delve into the 200 Best and see what makes it tick.
How it works
This is a list of the 100 top-selling events in each of our two categories (Fine Art & Design and Classic & Contemporary Crafts), based upon your votes. You were asked to send in your ballots, which were included with the April issue, listing your 10 top-selling events of calendar year 2006. Those ballots included spaces to write in not just the names of the events, the months in which the shows took place and the promoter, but also your gross sales at each venue. We then tallied up the individual votes, and out of nearly 1,000 shows that received votes this time, 200 made the final cut.
We have some familiar faces on the list this year. In fact, only 34 shows in this year's 200 Best were not on the list last time, and almost all of those have made the list sometime in the last 10 years. Also, only two shows (Paradise City Arts Festival, at #34 in the fine art category, and the Berea Craft Festival, at #44 in crafts) made the top 50 on their respective lists having not placed last time. While the #1 shows on both lists were the clear winners, the rest of the events in the top 10 events were remarkably close to one another, reflecting a healthy competitiveness that was present throughout the entire 200 Best.
Although many promoters whose shows made the 200 Best have already held their 2007 events, this list ranks their 2006 shows. That is important to keep in mind, especially because weather, date changes and show-site relocations can often have a profound effect on certain events. In other words, just because a 2006 show was voted into the 200 Best, that doesn't mean its 2007 version was or will be as good. The economy - both on a national and a local level - can also play a factor in the temporary success of a show, particularly in the Upper Midwest, where shows experienced a downward trend for the second year in a row. Michigan was hit especially hard, and slightly fewer events from the Wolverine State made the list this time. However, many of you said you thought the entire circuit was down a tad from last year, and considerably down from the late 1990s. So to make this year's list, many shows didn't have to do gangbusters - they simply had to figure out a way to either stay consistent with the previous year's sales or at least not do as poorly as other events.
One voter wrote on his ballot, "2006 was by far one of our sadder years in terms of sales volumes." A couple of other artists agreed, with one saying, "Overall, [it was] not a good year - too much buy/sell and outsourcing." However, many exhibitors had a healthy sales year, with one voter raving, "Sales for me have been up dramatically." With only anecdotal evidence to use as a guide, it's difficult to say whether 2006 was worse or better than 2005. One thing is still for certain, though: Many artists and promoters are working as hard as ever to make the show circuit an enjoyable way of life for thousands of people.
Please remember that this list does not take into consideration amenities, quality of art, attendance or any factor other than sales. In addition, the list is neither the law of the land nor a guarantee that you will do great business at these events - it is simply our best attempt to interpret what you have told us. It is up to you to do your homework by chatting with your fellow exhibitors, reading our monthly show reviews and talking directly to show organizers to determine if an event is right for you.
Is it fine art or crafts?
Events on our Fine Art & Design list are geared toward one-of-a-kind items and museum-quality pieces in 2-D and 3-D. However, a smaller amount of traditional crafts and production work is included in some of these events. Shows on our Classic and Contemporary Crafts list are geared toward traditional and modern styles of craftwork, handmade by exhibitors. Although the work shown often includes some fine art and one-of-a-kind designs, the events on this list are likely to incorporate more handcrafted production work.
Several shows are difficult to label, and some have actually switched from the fine art to the crafts list in years past. Events such as the Fairhope Arts & Crafts Festival (#10, crafts), the Festival of the Little Hills (#20, crafts) and the Atlanta Dogwood Festival (#25, fine art) often defy description, as they include a mix of fine art and crafts. So we rely on our own research and your feedback to decide where to place these and other events. And if a show is evenly divided between fine art and crafts, we look at the type of work that sold best.
And the winners are ...
Now that you have a better understanding of how the list is compiled and how to use it, we can reveal what you've all been waiting for: the winners you selected for 2006. You may not agree with all the selections, but we hope you find the list informative. We also hope that it allows you to discover new and profitable venues for your art or craft.
Top 5 Fine Art & Design Shows
1. St. James Court Art Show, Louisville, KY
2. Coconut Grove Arts Festival, Coconut Grove, FL
3. Bayou City Art Festival (March), Houston, TX
4. Bonita Springs Art Festival (January), Bonita Springs, FL
5. Port Clinton Art Festival, Highland Park, FL
Top 5 Classic & Contemporary Craft Shows
1. Yellow Daisy Festival, Stone Mountain, GA
2. Christmas in the Country, Hamburg, NY
3. Craftsmen's Christmas Classic Arts & Crafts Festival, Greensboro, NC
4. Craftsmen's Classic Arts & Crafts Festival (October), Chantilly, VA
5. Sunfest, Ocean City, MD
More.......
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