Riverssance Art Festival
Post #172
Riverssance Festival of Fine Art is held in Lathom Park in Davenport, Iowa. Davenport is also where I did my first event this year, Beaux Arts. (remember that? I think it was just a warning of what was to come.)
This event is put on by their local artist group Midcoast Fine Arts. As a result it is a well run, and an easy show to do. Theirs is the only application that I’ve read that actually got more than one chuckle out of me.
As I mentioned, we had a good weekend and the weather was just lovely. Look at all the blue sky in those photos. Riverssance is one of the best event I do. Both in terms of sales and how well they treat the artist.
The Perks
- Drive-up loading and unloading
- Spacious booth 14 x 14
- Breakfasts Provided: muffins, juice, coffee, bagels and fruits
- Generous Awards
- Awards Dinner Catered by different folks every year. In addition they usually have live music or stand-up comedy for entertainment during dinner. Cool!
- Art Angels: plenty of volunteers and booth sitters
- Good quality work. This year there were 98 artists. Among these were plenty of 2D artists which is a good sign for any other 2D artist. It means the crowd will support them and is not just a jewelry and pottery buying group.
- Located in a park. This is nice because staking a tent is far more secure than using weights. Also, if the event is during HOT weather, the trees and grass are dramatically cooler than pavement.
- Live music all day. Music adds dramatically to the festival like atmosphere.
The Downside
- On a bluff overlooking a major river, which is very scenic but can also be very windy.
- Gate Fee which is only three dollars. I have mixed feeling about admission fees. They are good because they help cut down on booth fees and also because they tend to weed out the less than serious buyer. But having a gate fee definately keeps the crowd smaller and at the moment we need as much crowd as possible. Still this event has enough buyers that as far as I can tell it hasn’t been a bad thing.
