Today is set-up day for one of the largest art fairs in the country, the Ann Arbor Art Fair. It is my best show of the season and produces the highest grossing sales of all shows each year. It starts Wednesday and runs till Saturday. It’s long brutal hours, 10am till 9pm in usually the hottest days of the year, and this year is no exception, as the temps are running from 93 to 99 with high humidity. Lots of fans are required and some artist even bring air conditioners. Strong storms also evade the show most years, and last year the show was closed down for eight hours over the four days due to bad storms. Even with the brutal temps and weather issues, this show still draws humongous crowds that come in from all over the country. One year I think I sold more to people from out of state then from Michigan. I even waited to long to register at one of the many area hotels and everything was sold out, so I have to drive outside of Ann Arbor for a hotel.
Ann Arbor’s gigantic art festival actually is 4 separate fairs that draws over 1,000 artists and a half a million visitors over the 4 days. The Ann Arbor Street Art Fair, the Original , is at Ingalls Mall between North University and W. Washington. The State Street Area Art Fair is in the shopping districts around State and Liberty. The Ann Arbor Summer Art Fair has a downtown section on Main and Liberty and a campus section on S. State. Ann Arbor’s South University Art Fair occupies most of the South University business district and adjoining East University and Church. Along with the fairs are free concerts and a huge variety of food and drink vendors.
I’m in the State Street Area Art Fair and my booth is located in 322 on Liberty Street near Maynard St.
