Resources

Resources for All Participants

At Pacific Fine Arts Festivals, we strive to provide you with resources to help make your participation easier.

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Important Deadlines

Each event has important dates you will want to note, including Application Deadlines!

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Checklists & Hold Harmless Forms

When you apply, you will need to provide a few things. We have checklists to help make sure you're covered!

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CA Seller's Permits & Business Licenses

Here's what you need to know about requirements for our events.

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Fire Extinguishers

Fire departments require us to have fire safe guidelines. Review information about Fire Extinguisher requirements. Also about display component requirements for the California Strawberry Festival.

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Event Media

Advertise your attendance to your customer base. We have event logos and graphics to help you promote your events!

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Required Insurance

You never know what lies ahead. Review insurance information to ensure you & our much loved events are protected.

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Referral Program

Get $50 for you and your friend each when you refer them to one of our events! Click here to learn more.

Optional Signage

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No Photos Signage

Don't want photos taken of your artwork? You can use this sign at your booth to help spectators understand your wishes and protect your imagery.

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Hot Asphalt

Many of our visitors like to bring their pets. If your booth is going to be on asphalt in the warm seasons, you can help remind your customers that the ground is hot!

Artist FAQ

I participated in one or more PFAF events last year / in the past, do I need to complete an application this year and send in the check list items?

Yes, each year we do need to receive the applications for each event in which you’d like to participate as well as the complete set of items requested listed on the checklist. We do not have the storage space to keep photographs and artist statements, for example, in the office and odds are good that you will have new designs to submit each year. If with your application you have included a SASE with adequate postage for the return of your collateral materials, we will return those by mail at the latest 4 weeks after the last event in which you participate.

I'm signed up for a show in April. What happens if it rains?

Every professional artist is expected to handle rain and wind. We recommend clear, heavy-duty plastic with clamps to hold it to your display. For wind, every display should be set up in a manner to ensure stability, and be well weighted regardless of weather/wind predictions. You are liable for any damaged or injury caused by your display if it blows over. If a show is canceled or cut short because of weather, you will be notified on the spot. PFAF has never canceled an event based on a weather prediction.

Can I request a specific location at a show?

We always try to honor location requests. However, it is ultimately our decision based on many factors. If you base your participation in an event solely on getting the display space you want, your entry fee will be returned as that attitude robs the promoter of the flexibility necessary to set up a show.

I am on your mailing list and I make cloth dolls. What shows on your schedule can I do?

PFAF creates separate schedules/applications each fall. One set is for fine artists and one is for craftspeople. Any event on the crafter application, in this case, or our “6-show” application, also, is open for your application. Deadlines are listed on each application as well as the date to expect status notifications to be sent.

Why is PFAF so strict about when exhibitors have to move their vehicles from the street and where they park?

Parking is a major problem at most locations where PFAF events are held. The merchants are guaranteed that vehicles will be moved at a given time and to designated areas that will not interfere with their customers’ parking. PFAF monitors this aspect of an event very closely and those persons who do not cooperate risk their participation in future PFAF events.

PFAF charges a 10% commission at most shows. Why not just charge a flat fee?

As the promoters, we feel that this policy makes us truly part of the team. We work hard to ensure that you have a good show so we, too, have a good show. Very good artists are often prevented from participating in festivals because of high entry fees. The lower entry fee/10% commission combination ensures that an artist can exhibit without worrying about covering a high initial overhead.

As a follow-up question, how does PFAF know that participants pay the full 10%?

PFAF believes in the honor system. By treating festival participants honestly and fairly, the same is expected in return. If PFAF is made aware that someone is cheating, the offender will be removed from the mailing list. In the Arts and Crafts Festival Community word of an artist’s reputation for cheating or unreliability can spread quickly.

I am a new PFAF artist and signed up for several Festivals this year. How will I know when and where to check in at the show and where my space will be?

Prior to any show for which you are signed up, you will receive in the mail or by email a packet of information detailing everything you need to know about that particular show. In some locations, space numbers and space locations will be given to you on the first morning when you check in. It is very important that you read this information thoroughly and bring it with you to the show.

I participated in a PFAF event recently and feel that the space I was assigned was in a bad location which did not get the traffic that other locations at the show had. Why was I given a bad space?

It sometimes happens that certain areas of a show do experience less traffic than others. This can be as a result of a number of factors, especially at a new event or an event with a new layout. With a new show or new layout at an existing show, care is taken to ensure the maximum exposure for everyone with the realization that once the show is underway, traffic patterns may not develop as predicted. Notes are taken in these instances which are used to modify layouts at that event in the future. PFAF veterans understand that at any show, new or old, with any promoter or organization, there are variables that are unpredictable and not within anyone’s control.