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Show Review Archives > 2009 > DECEMBER
 

September 5-7, Frankfort Fall Festival, Frankfort, IL

September 5-7, Frankfort Fall Festival, Frankfort. Contact: Lynne Doogan, Frankfort Chamber of Commerce, 123 Kansas Street, Frankfort, IL 60423. Phone: 815-469-3356. Fax: 815-469-4352. E-mail: lynne@frankfortchamber.com. Web site: www.frankfortchamber.com. Application fee: $25. Space fee: $450. Space size: 10x10 to 10x20. 100% outdoors.

Compiled from FastAudit reports

The Frankfort Fall Festival vaulted into the top five of SA's 200 Best earlier this year, coming in at #4 on the crafts list. That makes it the highest-selling crafts show in the state, according to you, our readers. But that lofty ranking was for the 2008 show. How did the show do in 2009? Well, as with most shows these days, that depends on whom you talk to.

Auditor totals averaged $4,901 from average sales of $52. Only 58 percent said they would definitely return, though, with the rest either saying they would not or were unsure. The top reasons for exhibitors wanting to return were the good organization, strong attendance, healthy sales and overall friendliness of the show-goers and the staff. For those exhibitors who plan not to come back, the motivating factors were lower-than-expected sales and what they described as low quality and buy/sell.

Many auditors turned their FastAudits in to the promoters themselves, who were nice enough to mail them to us. To guarantee objectivity, however, SA never accepts audits turned in to us by show promoters. However, in this instance, the promoters did not collect the forms themselves. Some auditors simply turned them into them by mistake. The feedback from those forms are not included with the aforementioned statistics, but it is worth mentioning that those audits were slightly more positive, with an average auditor total of $5,222. Almost all those auditors said they would return. The slight discrepancy between the audits mailed to us and those turned in to the promoter is not necessarily due to any inaccuracy in the latter group of audits. Instead, it's more a reflection of what we at SA have always noticed: Unhappy audits feel more comfortable sharing their feedback directly with SA, instead of the promoters. When the two groups of audits are combined and considered alongside feedback we've received on this show in past years, it's clear that the festival remains strong.

"I think a small percentage of the crowd here is interested in higher-end expensive work, but the crowd is so large that it still ends up being a decent show," said a mixed media artist ($4,876 total sales/$200 average item sold).

"I have participated in Frankfort for 10 years," said exhibitor Fran Linkowski. "The people come to buy. It is a great show. The Chamber of Commerce organizes this show perfectly. " Like any other show, sales have gone down some, but they are still strong."

That doesn't mean there isn't room for improvement, and many of our auditors cited parking, load-in/-out and quality as areas of concern. A potter ($15,000/$25), for instance, said it was nearly impossible to park a trailer and other vehicles, while a mixed media exhibitor ($1,500/$30) said, "This WAS a great show, but the influx of buy/sell has impacted the quality and influenced the buying decision of customers, who have essentially been "dumbed down' to expect rock-bottom prices."

Regardless of which auditors you agree with, you can't argue that this event, with roughly 300 exhibitors and an attendance that is often estimated as high as 200,000, is a major player on the crafts circuit. In addition to art and crafts, it features food, music, dancing and a parade on Sunday afternoon. Lynne Doogan and the rest of the staff at the Chamber of Commerce do a consistently good job of organizing the massive event, according to most of our auditors, and are able to attract shoppers from all over the Chicago metro area and beyond.