Any vendor preparing or serving food must obtain a temporary food permit from the Monroe County Health Department at least one week before the festival. This is the SOLE responsibility of the vendor. Please call (478) 993-3081 for more information. Food permits are $75 for the first day and $20 for each additional day and are the SOLE responsibility of the food vendor. IF YOU HAVE A COTTAGE FOOD LICENSE YOU STILL MUST CONTACT THE HEALTH DEPARTMENT AND PROVIDE COPIES OF THE LICENSE TO BICENTENNIAL COMMITTEE AND HEALTH DEPT. ELIGIBILITY All exhibited work must be like the photographs submitted and will be verified by the festival representatives who reserve the right to require vendors to remove any item or items that do not meet these requirements, or any item not approved upon acceptance. The committee reserves the right to reject any application for any reason. JURYING We look for the highest quality work and strive to have a variety of media, styles, and price points represented at the festival. All work must be original, produced by the exhibitor, and for sale. Beginning in August, we jury bi-weekly until each category is filled. We create a waiting list if a category fills up. For example, jewelry is by far the most popular category. We frequently fill all our spots for jewelers well before the show itself is full. We then create a waiting list of accepted applicants. If an artisan in the filled category cancels, then we fill their spot from the waiting list. LOCATION The City of Forsyth Bicentennial Festival takes place in the streets of downtown Forsyth. From I-75, take exit 187 or 186 and turn toward the west. Forsyth is located 1 hour south of Atlanta via I-75 and twenty minutes north of Macon. Bicentennial Festival is the weekend on September 23, 2023, Saturday 10 AM–6 PM Sunday, September 24, 2-23 11 AM–5 PM.The Bicentennial Festival is a two-day art-and-crafts show. Vendors must staff and keep booths intact during festival hours (Saturday from 10 AM until 6 PM and Sunday from 11 AM until 5 PM). VENDOR HOSPITALITY The festival provides a hospitality suite for our vendors. We will not be providing extensive PPE for safety. Please bring any gloves, masks, and enhanced sanitation supplies you need for your booth. We understand that some vendors do not have available staff to take a break; therefore, festival staff may be available to “booth-sit” for vendors. You will be provided with a number to call when you need assistance. You must be 18 years or older with a vendor badge (or accompanied by an adult with a vendor badge) to enter the hospitality suite. MINORS MUST BE ACCOMPANIED BY AN ADULT AT ALL TIMES WHILE IN THE HOSPITALITY SUITEINCLEMENT WEATHER The festival WILL NOT be rescheduled due to inclement weather. Regardless of the weather, the festival is a 2-day event. Vendors are required to staff their booths BOTH days during festival hours. Exhibitors must supply protective coverings/equipment needed to protect their work. There will be no refunds for inclement weather. Rules/Regulations ITEMS Vendors must list ALL products and prices that will be sold from their booth. Only items listed on your application and subsequently approved before the festival can be sold. THIS WILL BE MONITORED. If you violate our approved list, you will be asked to remove the item from your menu and you will jeopardize future participation in the festival. QUALITY OF PRESENTATION All participating food vendors must have a professional presentation. Vendors are required to provide everything in their setup. Your signage and banners need to be clean and professional looking. The look of your booth and your unique menu is very important to the overall look and success of the festival and is a major factor in the selection process. TENT WEIGHTS To protect not only a vendor’s merchandise but also that of other vendors, the festival requires that ALL TENTS BE SECURELY WEIGHTED. Failure to comply could result in removal from the festival without a refund of application fees. DISPLAY AREA Display areas are an average of 10 feet wide by 10 feet deep and are located on the city street. Vendors must provide their display set-up: tent (of any color), panels, tables, chairs, etc. Tents or coverings must be self-supporting. Drilling or puncturing the street surface is strictly prohibited. NO VEHICLE OF ANY KIND may remain on the festival grounds (must be removed by 6 PM Friday for Food Row or 9 AM for all other areas). All vendors MUST PARK in an area reserved as vendor parking. Vendors will be given one parking pass. Festival staff provides transportation between parking and the festival. You will be provided with a phone number to call when you need transportation to and from vendor parking. Failure to comply will be subject to POLICE INTERVENTION. The City of Forsyth Police Department provides security from 11 PM Friday through 5 PM Sunday. MAKING CHANGE The Forsythia Festival will provide concessionaires/vendors with change when necessary. This service will be available in the hospitality suite. Booth Information SET-UP Your space is LIMITED and EXACT to the dimensions you indicate below. If your booth exceeds the allotted space, the festival will have the right to relocate your booth and fine you $500.Food vendors on the food row must set up Friday between 12 PM – 6 PM. Food booths in other locations will be set up on Saturdays between 6 AM and 9 AM. Each food vendor will be notified of when their set-up time will be. Vendors must staff and keep booths intact during festival hours (Saturday from 10 AM until 6 PM, and Sunday from 12 noon until 5 PM). Food vendors may not set up before 2 PM Friday and setup must be complete no later than 6 PM Friday on Food Row. Vendors’ tents/setups must not infringe upon neighboring spaces or public areas. Exhibitors may not relocate or move from their assigned space without expressed consent by the executive festival staff. VENDOR LOAD-OUT To keep our vendors and patrons safe, we are changing our load-out policy this year. Vendors may not break down their booths until 5 p.m. on Sunday. You must fully pack up your booth and then have it checked by Festival staff. Once approved, you will receive a ticket to get your car. Our festival volunteers will take you to your parking lot to retrieve your vehicle. You will enter the festival grounds via W. Adams Street, just like you did at registration. No vehicles will be allowed entry without a ticket! You will then load your vehicle and remove it from the festival space as quickly as possible. ELECTRICITY is available for an additional fee; the options are as followed: • Electricity 120V -$25• Electricity 240V -$50 Applicants who require electricity must indicate it on their application and they MUST PROVIDE THEIR OWN ELECTRICAL EXTENSION CORDS Vendors may bring a generator; however, it must be indicated your application and ONLY QUIET GENERATORS ARE ALLOWED.WATER is available at certain locations in the festival layout. Vendors must bring their food-grade hose with a vacuum breaker to attach to the city water supply. This will be checked by the health inspector. CANCELLATION POLICY Cancellation: Participant understands, acknowledges, and agrees that the Bicentennial Festival is held in an open-air venue that is subject to inclement weather and other acts of God, as well as civil unrest or other unforeseen events. Because of the potential of cancellation as the result of the above, Participant agrees that the Chamber and its board of directors, members, agents, employees, and assigns shall not be liable or responsible to Participant in any respect as the result of Participant’s investment/payment to Bicentennial Festival of money in the event the festival is canceled due to some unforeseen reason, which is out of the control of the festival. Participant further agrees and acknowledges that in the event the festival or any part is canceled for any reason, Participant shall not be entitled to the refund of any monies paid to the Chamber for the event. Limitation of Liability. The Chamber shall not be liable for any lost profits, lost opportunity, or any other such loss or damages resulting from a direct or indirect reliance upon this agreement, participation in the 2023 Forsythia Festival, or payment of any fees or deposit. The parties agree that Georgia law shall govern this agreement and any dispute arising from the relationship between the parties to this agreement; further, any action at law or other judicial or administrative proceeding arising from this agreement may be maintained only in the Superior Court of Monroe County, Georgia, which shall have proper jurisdiction over any such matters and disputes.
