Wrap Up of the Fall City Stimulus Art Fair

“It worked!” “It really helped!” “It was very enjoyable and warm!”  These were just some of the comments and thoughts that were shared during the Fall City Stimulus Art Fair event held on November 14th in Fall City.

The organizers, Miska and Sharlet Driggs, were very happy and proud to have organized such an event that exceeded their expectations.  The foot traffic was much higher than the previous year and the sales for the artists were much better especially considering these slow economic conditions.  The artists were thrilled to have found a local event where the patrons could connect with them and their creative products.  And, the event also helped to launch some new artists.  Because the event was supported by the local community with a very warm and informal setting, it allowed beginning artists to showcase their talents next to more seasoned artists and learn the ropes of participating in events without any unneeded stress.

And the best part, the local community benefited from the event!  One of the goals of this event was to build a network with the local community and help in any way possible.  A couple of the achievements of the Fall City Stimulus Art Fair 2009 included:

• Creative Children for Charity raised $140 for Children's Hospital through the art project they conducted during the event
• 12 bags of groceries and $75 in donations was delivered to the Fall City Food Pantry!

Organizing a local art fair in your area isn’t a piece of cake, but it shouldn’t be so difficult that you don’t try.  So, here are some of the reasons that the Fall City Stimulus Art Fair worked so well and how you can organize your own art and craft event in your community.

Community

Connect with your neighbors and local art and craft community and find out what needs are out there and how you can help.  A supportive community is the key ingredient to any success!

Anchor Artists

Connect with well known artists in your community as much as the unknown artists.  The foot traffic will be there if you have an anchor or well known artist to lend the credibility to your event.

Sponsors

Fall City Arts is a great organization which sponsored the event with food and drinks as well as delivering flyers and spreading the word throughout the community.

Event Name

The name of the event is key and should be descriptive, intriguing, and at the same time show that it is a community event.  The Fall City Stimulus Art Fair name describes the event and at the same time is intriguing and inviting for everyone to come support their community.

Charity

Include your local charities to build the bridge between the art community and the local community as a whole.  Creative Children for Charity had an area at the event for children to focus their creative energy in painting and other handmade talents which then were sold to support Seattle Children’s Hospital.  What a great touch!

Marketing

There were many individuals and organizations that were involved in spreading the word for the Fall City Stimulus Art Fair.  Marketing is crucial to any event’s success and it doesn’t need to cost money.   In this particular case, here are the free marketing techniques that were used to promote the event:

• The Fall City Arts organization spread the word through their membership
• E-Mail messages were sent by the artists and their supporters to the local community
• Twitter was used to publicize the event through daily tweets
• Invitations were sent through Facebook
• Information was shared on blogs (like Meylah!) detailing the event
• Word of mouth

We want to thank Miska and Sharlet for hosting such a great event.  The Fall City Stimulus Art Fair was a great success and a testament to how a local community can come together and help one another in so many ways.  On behalf of Miska and Sharlet, thanks to everyone involved for making the event such a success and we look forward to next year!