Thirty Years and Going Strong - Venice-Nokomis Rotary Club Art Festival
Photo courtesy of Colleen Carver
Ideas for Other Nonprofits, Groups
The Venice-Nokomis Rotary Club is holding its 30th art and craft festival in January and is an example of how to successfully grow and revise an event with the times.
Joe Pokorney co-chairs the festival, which he said “started 30 years back as a small, high quality, mostly local art show. Over the years, our show gradually grew and after 10 years or so, we had over 200 artists.”
The club decided to start the festival after learning a Rotary club in Cape Coral had done such a thing. “A couple of our guys went down there in their (Cape Coral club’s) second or third year,” Pokorney said.
Florida’s growth affected the Venice-Nokomis Rotary Club’s festival.
What happened in southern Florida 20-some years ago was the number of art events being held in the state began to increase. Pokorney said the club discovered more competition from other art shows in neighboring communities.
That was followed by what he described as a deluge of applications from jewelers and then a decline in the general quality of the artists.
“As we tried to sustain the show, we added antique automobiles, kids’ activities, and for a few years evening rock ‘n’ roll music,” Pokorney said. “At our lowest point over the past 10 years, we were down to less than 90 artists and craft makers. Now we use zapplication.com for artist’s registration, and we have put much more money into advertising for artists.”
Also added to the festival was an exhibit of student artwork from five local schools. The artwork is judged, and Pokorney said it draws a crowd — especially family members. “A lot of people just like to see what the young people are doing,” he said.
The number of exhibitors at the art festival has leveled off the last few years to about 110. Pokorney is comfortable saying the club will have that many for its upcoming event, which is Jan. 15 and 16, at the Venice Airport Festival Grounds.
It is a juried fine arts and craft festival, and the club tries to limit the number of artists in each category. “We don’t do any buy/sell stuff if we can avoid it,” he said.
He said the show has a good reputation among artists, with many returning every year. “We’re looking for creative artists,” is Pokorney’s message to first-time applicants.
Held on the weekend before Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, it is for the most part an outdoor festival. Due to past instances with inclement weather, a large tent is a recent addition for artists who want to be under cover. They pay a higher fee.
Pokorney encourages artists to arrive on Friday to set up. Most can park their vehicles right behind their booth space, which is a draw for the artists, he said. There is overnight security.
The club has about 100 members. “It’s close to mandatory to be involved,” Pokorney said of helping with the festival. A committee of 20 people plans the event.
Pokorney said many who live in the area are wealthy, affluent, and retired. The festival draws a big crowd, offering “artists and crafts folks an opportunity to sell their works to a wide range of customers who are locals, snowbirds, and day trip visitors from many surrounding communities,” he said.
Joe’s Tips for a Successful Event
Manage it yourself instead of hiring an event manager. The tradeoff is the amount of effort you must put in versus the amount of revenue you expect. If the event is primarily a fundraising event, you can raise a lot more money managing the event yourself. However, this requires a lot of effort and the commitment of time and energy from the whole organization.
Food trucks are the answer if you want to add food to your event. You can generally work out equitable costs, such as a fixed, modest fee each truck pays. They focus on the food and make the profit. Food draws a bigger crowd but trying to prepare and sell your own food is a big challenge and rarely makes much money.
Expect and plan for bad weather. If you are holding an outdoor event, make sure all your artists can tie down their booths and protect their artwork. Murphy’s Law dictates that some unexpected weather event will create havoc — even under the best of conditions.
Treat your artists well and they will return. Over the years, we have bent over backwards to make our artists happy. They can park behind their booths. We offer a discount for their Saturday onsite meal, and we try to accommodate their booth requests. The artists make the show. With all the various art shows, they have choices regarding which shows they attend.
Promotion leads to a successful show. Do not scrimp on it. The way you attract artists is different from how you attract attendees, but both are essential for success. Your local communities are where your attendees are from, but artists travel from throughout the country to participate in shows. Use local newspapers and radio stations to get the locals to attend but invest in advertising and Calls for Artists in the various publications that connect with artists.
Use the internet and social media to promote your event. This only requires a little time and creativity to increase your exposure for very little expense.