Mystic Outdoor Art Festival Reviews..

Medium: 2D mixed media
Year you most recently exhibited at this Show:
2016
Your Estimated Sales at this Show: $500
Price Range of your Work: 100 to 800
Number of Years You have Exhibited in this Show:
5-10 times
Number of Years You have been doing Art Fairs overall: Forever...
Attendance: (1 is poor, 5 is great) 4
Location: 4
Facilities: 4
Ease of Participating: 4
Sales: 5
Overall: 4
Booth Fee vs. Your Sales Ratio: Good
Estimated Attendance: 501-10,000 people

Good Things about this Art Fair:
This has always been a great show, for 55 years or more and I have always sold 10 to 15 works (I keep rigid figures yearly). It has always had a very appealing layout, till a person was struck by a car last year. It's reputation for very good art has always been stellar.

Bad Things about this Art Fair:
The last two years, the church on Main St. has rented out its parking lot to resale and junk sellers for a minimal fee($50)with no jurying. They place a large number of signs up on the main roads leading to the art show with arrows pointing to the back of the church, advertising it as the show.

I have been blessed with many repeat customers over the years at this show, and they tell me they feel this Church has really diluted the overall show and dropped the quality.

This year with the heat index being around 110 degrees, the sales were way down for most artists. I was glad to read one or two had some good sales.

Advice to Other Artists Considering this Show:
I would say to any artists considering this show to give it at least a chance. It has always been very well run with an excellent attendance record and stellar reputation.

Additional Commentary on this Show:
Another thing that must be considered regarding this show for this year, it is an election year, and I and several of my artist friends have been keeping detailed records for 25 years by show, by the hour, weather, etc. We have found that every election year sales are way down .

Posted by: John Houle | 08/27/2016 at 08:32 PM

Show Name: Mystic OUtdoor Art Fair
City and State: Mystic CT
Your Medium: 2D mixed media
Year you most recently exhibited at this Show: 2013
Your Estimated Sales at this Show: $2001-$5000
Number of Years You have Exhibited in this Show: 5-10 times
Attendance: (1 is poor, 5 is great) 4
Location: 4
Facilities: 4
Ease of Participating: 4
Sales: 4
Overall: 4
Booth Fee vs. Your Sales Ratio: Good
Estimated Attendance: 50,001+ people

Good Things about this Art Fair: 56 years the committee has this pretty well fine tuned for organization. Decent booth fee and application fee about $235 for booth. Loyal following of customers who come from near and far for this show. Good program with maps and artists listings by category and name. Many cash prizes awarded across all media. There are collectors who come to buy at this show.

Bad Things about this Art Fair: If you are on the main street you can't set up until after 4 am on Saturday morning. You set up in parking spaces on the main streets and traffic runs behind your booth. If a car is parked in your space - they may have to move you elsewhere - it has happened to me twice in ten years. The show has a fairly large footprint with booths on 4 or 5 different streets and traffic doesn't make it to all areas equally. I have opted to be on a side street in a bank parking lot that allows me more space behind my booth and easier set up but I do lose some of the traffic. People each year tell me they have never seen my work before and yet they attend almost every year. Of course there are businesses who won't let the Chamber use the space in front of their store and also that sell out spaces on their property to non-official, unjuried, exhibitors.

Advice to Other Artists Considering this Show:It can be very crowded, and spaces can be tight. Use and develop your mailing list.

Additional Commentary on this Show (or about this form): Yes, I'll go back - decent sales plus lots of interest in largest pieces, priced over $3,000. Love my spot and neighbors and win some prize money quite often - 3rd place this year in Mixed Media. In my area of 8 booths we had 4 prize winners.

Posted by: Stephanie Nadolski | 09/19/2013 at 09:13 PM

Show Name: Mystic Outdoor Art Fair
City and State: Mystic CT
Your Medium: 2D mixed media
Year you most recently exhibited at this Show: 2012
Your Estimated Sales at this Show: $501-$2000
Number of Years You have Exhibited in this Show: 5-10 times
Attendance: (1 is poor, 5 is great) 4
Location: 4
Facilities: 4
Ease of Participating: 4
Sales: 4
Overall: 4
Booth Fee vs. Your Sales Ratio: Good
Estimated Attendance: 10,001-50,000 people

Good Things about this Art Fair: Friendly, helpful committee and volunteers. Printed program with map of booths, lots of awards in categories.

Bad Things about this Art Fair: Weather can be problematic. Saturday's forecast probably kept some people away but weather actually held okay for entire show with rain only at night.

Advice to Other Artists Considering this Show: Booths on the street can be frenetic with cars going by as they keep the streets open over the bridge.

Posted by: Stephanie Nadolski | 09/16/2012 at 05:30 PM

Show Name: Mystic Outdoor Art Festival
City and State: Mystic, CT
Your Medium: Painting
Year you most recently exhibited at this Show: 2012
Your Estimated Sales at this Show: $2001-$5000
Number of Years You have Exhibited in this Show: 3-5 times
Attendance: (1 is poor, 5 is great) 4
Location: 5 (great)
Facilities: 3
Ease of Participating: 3
Sales: 4
Overall: 4
Booth Fee vs. Your Sales Ratio: Great
Estimated Attendance: 10,001-50,000 people

Good Things about this Art Fair: Lots and lots and lots of people attend, usually, and many of them have money and are there to spend it.

Volunteers are very willing to help, when you can find them.

There's a pleasant artists' breakfast on Sunday, with a slide show of award winners. There are pretty many categories of awards, and pretty many winners.

Bad Things about this Art Fair: Set-up is Saturday morning, and parking is terrible. This year, it seemed, many exhibitors parked overnight, making Saturday morning parking even more difficult.

While the crowds are often big, many people come just to look, just to have an outing.

Advice to Other Artists Considering this Show: This is a chaotic and busy show, on the main street of Mystic, CT, at the busiest time of year. There are tons of cars going by, too, along with the people, so just be aware of that. There are lots of cops in the area during the show.

The main show, sponsored by the Chamber of Commerce, takes place on Main Street and down several side streets. There are other groups of vendors on lawns and in parking lots mixed in with the show. Much of this work is very good, but some is not.

Posted by: Carrie Jacobson | 08/20/2012 at 01:38 AM

Show Name: Mystic Outdoor Art Festival
City and State: Mystic, CT
Your Medium: Painting
Year you most recently exhibited at this Show: 2011
Your Estimated Sales at this Show: $501-$2000
Number of Years You have Exhibited in this Show: 2-3 times
Attendance: (1 is poor, 5 is great)4
Location: 4
Facilities: 2
Ease of Participating: 3
Sales: 4
Overall: 4
Booth Fee vs. Your Sales Ratio: Good
Estimated Attendance: 10,001-50,000 people

Good Things about this Art Fair: Generally a good crowd, and a fair percentage interested in buying. If you're on the main drag, you get good traffic.

Bad Things about this Art Fair: If you're on a side street, your exposure is way, way down. In with the buyers are plenty of people who are just out for a stroll. Some private businesses have unjuried shows in their parking lots, and these folks look like the MOAF artists, but their work often doesn't hold up, so if you're near them, just be aware. I am usually near a group of jewelers in a beading store's parking lot, and they are good artists and craftsmen - but others can be a problem, including buy and sell booths.

Advice to Other Artists Considering this Show: Set-up is on the morning of the show. Parking is a nightmare. Facilities can be a hike. The smell of kettlecorn can be overwhelming. And August in Connecticut can be as humid as the jungle.

Posted by: Carrie Jacobson | 06/15/2012 at 01:16 AM

Show Name: Mystic Outdoor Art Festival
City and State: Mystic, CT
Your Medium: 2D mixed media
Year you most recently exhibited at this Show: 2010
Your Estimated Sales at this Show: $5001-$7500
Number of Years You have Exhibited in this Show: 5-10 times
Attendance: (1 is poor, 5 is great) 4
Location: 4
Facilities: 3
Ease of Participating: 4
Sales: 5 (great)
Overall: 4
Booth Fee vs. Your Sales Ratio: Great
Estimated Attendance: 50,001-100,000 people

Good Things about this Art Fair:
Prize money in several categories spreads out the award money. Loyal following by residents and tourists. Many customers come from far away to attend and buy at this show.

Chamber of Commerce and volunteers strongly support this show and are visible and helpful.

Bad Things about this Art Fair:
It is spread out over small city streets and it can be difficult to set up in some of the areas. Spaces can be tight in high traffic areas.

The weather can be all over the place - even closed one day early due to hurricane warnings.

Advice to Other Artists Considering this Show:
Apply early - they have reduced fees for early application

Posted by: Stephanie Nadolski | 03/07/2011 at 11:15 PM

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