40th Cape Coral Art Festival Artist/Crafter Application

**2025 Exhibitor Application**The Cape Coral Art Festival invites you to apply to be one of 240 exceptional artists at our 2025 Outdoor street event, rated 5th best in the nation by Sunshine Artists 2020. Cape Coral has been named as one of the fastest growing cities in America. In 2024, our festival had an attendance of over 100,000 visitors to the South Cape area in Cape Coral, Florida. The two-day event gives patrons who are eager to purchase Art for their new homes, the opportunity to meet and purchase art from exhibiting artists and craftspeople. Our goal is to provide the public and our selected exhibitors an experience of unparalleled quality. Proceeds from the Festival helps the Rotary Club of Cape Coral fulfill its mission of serving our community through the award of grants to organizations needing assistance “Service above Self”. View our programs at capecoralartfestival.com This January, we will be hosting our 40th annual two-day public outdoor event and a month long virtual or online selling opportunity. Our virtual event will be online January 2rd to January 31st at www.capecoralartfestival.com. Our public outdoor event on January 11th and 12th, 2025, will give patrons the opportunity to meet and purchase from artists and fine crafters. We will feature a virtual platform to provide our artists and businesses exposure to the world. The event is free to the public. New this year, to Celebrate our 40th Anniversary, we will have a special area in our festival to recognize “Premier Artists.”   We are organizing the “Premier Artist” area to recognize the fine artists who are contributing so much to make a positive impact on our world.   Artists who score the highest jury scores will be invited to display in our exclusive “Premier Artists Area.”  This area will accommodate the 72 highest jury scoring Artists. The benefits of being invited to participate in our “Premier Artist Area” include: 

• Booth location next to lodging accommodations, Holiday Inn Express;

 

• Reduced booth fee or discounted booth and 2 nights lodging package deal at the Holiday Inn Express;

 

• Lunch and Water will be delivered to your booth on Saturday and Sunday;

 

• Larger Booth Space: 13-foot-wide booth spaces;

 

• Dedicated Artist bathrooms; and 

 

• Convenient access to food located in an “off the street” food court

Amenities for all Fine Crafters and Artists include: * Booth spaces located on the street;
* Light towers will be placed along the street to make finding your Booth plus set-up and tear- down easier;
* Enhanced WiFi service will be provided to prevent usage overload problems;
* Professional Overnight Security is provided;
* Complimentary Coffee and Doughnuts will be served on Saturday and Sunday mornings;
*Drive-up access to your booth is provided for unloading and loading and to access to your booth on Saturday and Sunday mornings until 9 am;
*Artist information packets will be delivered to booths by 9:00 am on Saturday morning;
*The festival will close at 4 pm on Sunday;
*Free Convenient off-street parking will be provided for Artists’ Vehicles and RVs;
 * $9,000 in cash awards will be given to Category winners and Best in Show;
* Award Presentation Breakfast will held on Sunday morning before the Festival opens;
* Water and Snacks will be delivered to booths;
* For those artists needing a little more space, there is an Option to purchase a (booth and ½ space: 16.5’) in lieu of a standard 11’ Single or 22’ Double booth space; and

* Dedicated group of Rotarian volunteers will assist with Booth set-up, tear-down and booth sitting during the festival if needed. FESTIVAL DEADLINES: August 30, 2024: Artist Applications due by 5:00 pmSeptember 6, 2024: Jury SelectionSeptember 10, 2024: Invitation of Acceptance; Notification emailed to accepted, waitlisted, and not invited artistsNovember 1, 2024: Deadline of Acceptance by Artists to Event Committee through Eventeny or ZappDecember 2, 2024: Booth payment deadlineDecember 13, 2024: Artists who have paid for their booth will be notified of their booth assignment which will be based upon Artist submitted booth location requests in the special requests section.  There is very limited availability of corner booths.  Artists who would like to change their assigned booth location are to notify Christina Redman via email at cgredman@gmail.com. December 16, 2024: Deadline for Artist to cancel participation with no forfeiture of booth fee.December 16, 2024: Artist Proof of Insurance due. Send proof of insurance to cgredman@gmail.comDecember 30, 2024: Deadline to order a rental tent from Creative Events in Fort Myers (239) 768-6393. If a tent is needed for our festival, mention our event to indicate where you need a tent.January 10, 2025: Art  Festival Set-upJanuary 11-12, 2025: 40th Annual Cape Coral Art Festival and Market Place, South “Downtown” Cape Coral Parkway ACCEPTED CATEGORIES AND MEDIA DEFINITIONS: Media categories are used by the Cape Coral Arts Festival as a tool for organizing images into logical, related groups for jury’s review. While it is the Festival’s principal objective to present a balanced show that equitably showcases both 1) works of fine art and craft and 2) diversity among media, please note that the Festival establishes no quota or entitlement by media category. All work must be original and signed handcrafted work. The artist signature defines and establishes artist ownership and it guarantees the accuracy of the description of the works presented and the authenticity of the work as the creation of their own hands. Ceramics - All original clay and porcelain. If multiple pieces of the same design are displayed, the artist must sign each piece. Machine made, mass-produced work is not permitted. Embellishment of manufactured materials is not permitted. Digital Art- Original work utilizing computer software used solely to create, design, and produce work. Stylized adaptation of another artist’s work is not considered original. Work must be printed on archival quality paper and properly signed and numbered as a limited edition of no more than 250. Exhibitor must disclose and display both their creative and printing processes in their booth during the festival. Drawing & Pastels- Works created using dry media including chalk, charcoal, pastels, pencil, wax crayons, etc. or from fluid media including inks and washes applied by pen or brush. Fiber Art- All originally designed and hand produced work crafted from fibers, including but not limited to: sculpture, wall art, basketry, embroidery, weaving, tapestry and paper making. No commercially machine-tooled, machine-screened patterns or miscellaneous forms of mass production are permitted, including manufactured seams. NO factory produced items, regardless of additional modifications or enhancements may be exhibited. Embellishment of manufactured materials is not permitted.  Glass-  Glass works that are functional or decorative by design and are kiln-formed or have been crafted by glass blowing, fusing, staining, molding, or casting.. Works may be etched or engraved. Embellishment including painting on manufactured items is not permitted. No forms of mass production are permitted. Graphics/Printmaking:- Printed works in which the artist hand- manipulated the plates, stones, or screens. Prints must be signed and numbered as a limited edition. Print makers are required to disclose their printing process. Jewelry- All jewelry, whether produced from metal,glass, clay, fiber, paper, plastic, or other materials. No commercial casts, molds, or production studio work is allowed. No more than 10% of a piece may consist of commercial findings including hardware like clasps and earring backs.The major impact of the piece must be the original work of the artist. ** Beads must be made by the artist. There are only two exceptions to this rule: 1) If the beads are not made by the artist, they must clearly play a subordinate role in the finished piece and 2) The requirement that beads must be made by the artist does not apply in the technique known as bead weaving, however commercial bead weaving kits are not permitted. Leather- Work where the primary material is Hand worked by the Artist/ crafter leather prior to the making of  belts, handbags, wearables, and sculpture work. All factory-produced items are prohibited regardless of additional modification or enhancement by the artist. Metal- Includes all non-sculptural, non-jewelry work crafted from metals. No production studio work is allowed. 2D and 3D Mixed Media - Works that incorporate more than one type of physical material in thier production. Two-dimensional mixed media should include more than one of the following: paint, pencil, watercolor, photography, printmaking, fabric, or other 2D objects. 3D mixed media must include dimension as a main feature. Works majorly produced from found objects must exhibit quality design and artistry, and the final product must be an entirely new piece. Painting- The use of oils, acrylics, watercolors, and tempera suitable for hanging. Photography and Digital Photography- The process of capturing images that begins with a camera, then printing the images by chemical or digital means onto a surface, This category includes traditional film photography and digital photography. All pieces must be signed, numbered and dated in limited editions of no more than 250. Prints must have been processed by the artist and printed under the artist’s direct supervision. In addition, to the above, the surface on which the photographs are printed must be identified in the description of technique (paper,aluminum, wood, fabric, canvas, etc.). Photographers are required to disclose their creative and printing processes. Sculpture- Three dimensional completely original work created and produced by the artist in any medium. Wood- Original works that are hand-tooled, machine-worked, turned, or carved. Embellished manufactured wood items and mass production are not permitted. AWARDS: All Artists will be judged during the festival on Saturday for Award by our respected judge. All Artists are eligible to receive an award. Each award winner will receive a ribbon, a cash award and an invitation to bypass the jury process in 2025.  Award winners from the previous year still need to apply and will be required to pay application and booth fees, but acceptance will be automatic. The Festival Committee reserves the right to not declare a winner in a category that only has a one or two artists and the judge deems them not worthy of an award. Best In Show:  $2,000.00Best in EACH Category: $500 Eventeny Virtual   Things to know about our “Optional Participation”  Eventeny Virtual event: Inclusion in the virtual event is free to live exhibitors. 

1. There are no risks when creating a business shop page. You can add videos, pictures, products, etc. or you can go as simple as your logo and a link to your website.
2. Convenience for buyers. Buyers can purchase from multiple vendors with one transaction which has been shown to increase the likelihood visitors will purchase. 78% of shoppers on Eventeny purchase from multiple vendors and artists.
3. Promotion through the event and ranking shops on Google via SEO meta-tagging.
4. You will have a personal booth page for your work.

If you’re connected to multiple virtual events on Eventeny, you only have to do the bulk of the work once and tailor as needed for other shows. You won’t need to create separate booth pages per event. See the helpful tips on capecoralartfestival.com

The Cape Coral Arts Festival & Marketplace is one of Lee County’s largest Special Event according to the Lee County Tourist Development Council and the Lee County Visitors and Convention Bureau bringing over 100,000 attendees to enjoy the arts in January 2024. Attendance in 2024 was lower than 2023 attendance of 140,000 due to inclement weather. In 2020, our Art Festival was Voted the Best Outdoor Event by the readers of Gulfshore Life Magazine and the 5th best Art Festival in the nation by Sunshine Artists. For 39 years, the Rotary Club of Cape Coral has been proud to bring this event to the community. All Proceeds from booth sales are donated by the Cape Coral Rotary Foundation to improve the community of Cape Coral. Artists, designers and makers with high quality, handmade, original work are invited to apply to be a part of our Fine Art Festival. Eligible work ranges from original high quality giftable craft to premium fine art. Applications will be juried and chosen based on uniqueness, craftsmanship and attention to detail. Up to 240 artists will be accepted to participate in the festival. Any Fine Artist or Crafter exhibiting at our outdoor Festival will be provided a free online booth at our virtual Festival. The Virtual Festival will give patrons the opportunity to preview the work and to shop until the end of January. General Information Event Dates: January 11 &12, 2025 Application Deadline: August 30, 2024 Application Fee: $35 Single Booth Fee: $450.00 plus 6.5% sales tax The Cape Coral Art Festival has artist friendly procedures in place to ensure that your weekend is pleasant and profitable. Our Artist Hospitality team will be there to greet and direct you on Set Up and will be available to assist you all weekend. Artist Perks include: * Self Check-in for Artists, our hospitality team will hand information packets with official name badges to your booth on Saturday morning before 9:00 am. * Drive up access to your booth location during set up hours on Friday evening and Saturday morning as well as booth replenishment on Sunday morning * Drive up access for Booth teardown starting at 5 pm Sunday * Eleven feet of space for your 10x10 single booth with space behind your booth for storage * Convenient restroom locations for Artists * Professional overnight security * Continental breakfast for Artists on Saturday and Sunday * $9,000 in Prizes Awarded to “Best in Show” and Category Winners. Prizes will be awarded at an Award Ceremony and Breakfast on Sunday Morning hosted by the participating Non-Profit Organizations in Cape Coral. * Free bottled water and snacks provided to artists on Saturday and Sunday * Free Parking provided in lots designated for Artists adjacent to Art Show Site * Volunteer booth sitters available during all festival hours upon request * Show hours: 10am-5pm Saturday and 10 am-4pm on Sunday

JURY PROCEDURE: A blind jury will select artists for invitation between August 30-September 21, 2024.  Up to 220 artists will be invited through the jury process. Award winning artists from the 2024 Cape Coral Arts festival will automatically be invited to participate. Festival jury will be conducted by a panel of experienced artists and community professionals and is based solely upon the quality of the work as illustrated in the submitted digital images and submitted statement of material/technique. It is in the best interest of the artist to submit high quality pictures that depict representative samples of the art that will be sold during the festival.  It is the responsibility of the Artist/ Fine Crafter to convey with their booth a very  professional appearance. Booths that do not look professional will be excludedfrom the Fine Art/Fine Craft area.  Accepted artists will be the top/highest scores in their respective category/medium. Cape Coral Arts Festival may limit the number of Artists accepted in some categories in order to present a balanced show. Decisions of the jury are final. Artist scores will not be released. The Festival Director has the option to fill all vacancies from the Festival waitlist based upon jury scores. The jury process is closed. RULES AND REGULATIONS: 

1. The Cape Coral Arts Festival is open to all original Fine Crafters and  Artists. Artwork must be creative and original in design and an Artist/Fine Crafter must display and sell only in the media category in which the work has been accepted. Work displayed and sold must be consistent with work represented by jury images. Artists are prohibited from selling non-original promotional items i.e.(posters, postcards, note cards, calendars, tee shirts etc.) at the Festival. Only fine craftspeople and artists displaying their own original work may participate. No agents or dealers. Photo I.D. is required. This show is for original handcrafted work. Final interpretation of commercial status will be made by the Committee. The Committee has the right to expel, without refund, any Exhibitor who breaks these rules during the Art Festival.
2. All applicants MUST submit at least a total of 6 high quality images in the application: four (4) images of work representing the art that will be presented for sale at our Festival, one (1) image of their booth, and at least (1) image of the artist producing their work in their studio.  
3. Applications by collaborating artists: If two or more persons collaborate to produce original work, each person must be identified on the Application. Collaborations are to be true artistic collaboration rather than business collaboration. No work by apprentices or employees will be accepted. Collaborating exhibitors may apply as a single entry only. No more than two (2) exhibitors working as a team may collaborate in the design and creation of any artwork submitted with the application or chosen to display at the Festival. Assistants, employees, office or other support staff are NOT considered to be collaborators. If an artist has a helper who assists the exhibitor with frames, setup, selling, paperwork, etc., but she/he is NOT producing the work under his/her own or team name, this person is NOT a collaborator, though he or she may certainly assist at the Festival. If accepted, only one (1) booth will be issued, and only finished work that is the result of the collaborative process may be displayed and sold.BOTH collaborating exhibitors are required to sign in and present photo identification prior to setting up. BOTH exhibitors must be present during Festival hours in the booth during the entire two-day Festival, with the exception of short breaks.

 4.  The following are prohibited: A. Buy-Sell (see below) B. Copies of original artwork not done by the exhibitor and works reproduced or copied from works of masters, advertisements, commercial or widely circulated photographs or offset prints.C. Work purchased from an outside source for resaleD. Mass Production artwork or craft in any category. Artists/Crafters who will be offering many art/craft pieces that are similar and not distinctly unique will be given lower scores during the jury process. E. Work produced with kits, castings from commercial molds, patterns, plans or commercial means is not permitted.F.  Traditional crafts such as soaps, candles, scented oils and homemade food itemsG. Mass-produced note cards, commercial books, etc. not reproduced from the exhibitor’s original work.H.  Artwork not in the category in which the artist applied and was acceptedI.   Unsigned artwork or work not using archival materialsJ.  Alcohol or sound systemsK. Gasoline and diesel powered Generators.  The only acceptable generator must be “battery powered only”L. Commercial agents, dealers, manufacturers, or buy-sell vendors are not eligible to enter.  The artist must be in the booth except for short breaks.  5.    The selection of an artist/craftsperson is an indication of his/her commitment to exhibit. When an artist has been approved by jury for participation in the festival, the credit card given by the artisit for payment will be charged the booth fee plus 6.5% tax. NO REFUNDS will be made for cancellation after the December 16, 2024 Cancellation deadline.  NO REFUNDS shall be made for inclement weather or other acts of God over which the Sponsors have no control, and the risk and/or loss from such event shall be borne by the Exhibitor. 6.    Exhibitors’ work displayed and sold during the show must Match the quality and balance of the images submitted to the event jury. An artist is not permitted to submit images presenting complex and detailed artwork but come to our festival with a large quantity of simple work, it must be presented in the same proportion as presented in the jury images. Small work can be an important and essential sale item for an artist, therefore, an artist may display up to 15% of small work as the rest of the artist’s application. The pictures of the Artist’s work submitted to the jury must match (in quality, workmanship, and design) the work that will be sold by the artist during the festival. The exhibition or sale of anything else by the Exhibitor is prohibited.  No sharing of space, subletting or selling is permitted except when two people work together as accepted collaborators. 7.    If your craft is the building of musical instruments, they must be sold (not DVD, cd or other media forms of the music).  As a courtesy to other exhibitors, any music played in your booth may not be audible outside your booth or you will be asked to lower the volume.  Failure to do so will result in your being asked to leave. 8.    Each Exhibitor must comply with all pertinent State of Florida sales tax regulations. 9.    Official Exhibitor I.D. badges will be issued and must be worn at all times by the Exhibitor. Each Exhibitor will be provided with and must display an 8 1/2” x 11” white card with Exhibitor’s name, category and home city. 10.  All Exhibitors must check-in reporting to their designated parkway entrance location between 7:00 p.m.and 9:00 p.m. Friday, Jan. 10, 2025 or between 6:00 a.m. and 8:00 a.m. on Saturday, Jan.11, 2025. Reporting as present is REQUIRED prior to beginning setup.  Failure to check in by 8:00 a.m. on Saturday January 11th will result in loss of your space and your fee forfeited. 11.  Displays must be set up and ready for judging by 9:00am on Saturday and by 10:00 am for selling daily.  No booth may be dismantled prior to the 4:00 p.m. closing.  Except for short breaks, Displays must be staffed at all times by the “Accepted” Artist/ Fine Crafter.  Exhibitors must furnish their own tents and displays. Tents must be strong enough and weighed down by enough 40 pound weights on each leg to withstand winds and crowds. Exhibitors may not use stakes. Exhibitors are responsible for damages caused by these displays. 12.  All Exhibitors must park their vehicles in designated artist parking areas. Vehicles must be off the Parkway by 9:00 a.m. on Saturday and Sunday mornings and by 7:00 p.m. on Sunday evening. 13.  Judges will base all awards on the overall quality of all work shown. 14. Acceptance to the Cape Coral Arts Festival is non-transferable. Only artwork of the accepted artist may be displayed. 15. Staff will inspect booths on-site to assure compliance of the Rules, and reserves the exclusive right to interpret and enforce the Rules. In any dispute, the decision of the Festival Director shall prevail. Failure to comply with the rules may result in the artist’s removal from the festival without a refund and the right to exhibit in future events will be jeopardized. 16. All Artists are required to display an Artist Statement including a photograph of the artist in their booth during the festival. 17. Reproductions must be clearly identified as such. Original art must occupy at least 75% of the artist’s space. Reproductions must be signed editions of no more than 250, hand pulled by the artist. Framed reproductions may be displayed on one wall of the booth. Unframed reproductions must be displayed in browse bins and not obstruct patron flow. 18.  All Artists/Fine Crafters are to stay within the confines of their booth space. 19.  The appearance of booths must fit with the comportment of the Cape Coral Art Festival. The Festival committee reserves the right to dictate changes in the appearance of a booth if needed. Buy-Sell/Production Buy-Sellers have become a scourge on Art Festivals.  These people have become increasingly clever in their applications and often show documentation that they are the artist or craftsperson. This makes it very difficult to prove. We wish to do everything we can to deter buy-sell at the Cape Coral Arts & Music Festival.  We will have a special committee devoted to researching each application upon receipt. If you are determined to be a Buy-Sell/Production exhibitor by the committee, you will be immediately expelled from the Festival without refund.  If you are a Buy-Sell/Production exhibitor, save your $35 dollars and don’t apply.  Please don’t apply if you: 1. Buy work and try to sell it as your own, 2. Have a factory or a team that makes the work under your direction, 3. You plan on having a representative staff your booth, 4.  Make work from kits or assemble other people work into something else. INSURANCE: All exhibiting Artists must carry an insurance policy that names the City of Cape Coral and the Cape Coral Rotary Foundation, Inc.as additional liability insured in the amount of $1,000,000.00. If you do not have an adequate insurance policy for our Festival, a policy for our three day festival can be obtained for approximately $44 from ACT for Actors, Crafters, and Tradesmen.  A link to obtain a three day policy will be posted on our website, CapeCoralArtFestival.com after “Invitations to Participate” in our festival have been sent.