Guidelines, Requirements and General Information for the 2021 Holiday Festival of the Arts

Friday, November 19 –  Thursday, December 24th, 2021

The Holiday Festival of the Arts is an indoor arts festival featuring over 100 artisans and craftspeople from Northwest Washington. The festival takes place over a six week period. In addition to vendor displays, the festival boasts workshops for kids, live music, and artists demonstrating their craft.

Before you commit to the festival:

  • READ all of the guidelines on this page very carefully. By signing below you agree to everything in this packet and if you do not comply your participation in this and future Allied Arts events will be jeopardized. If you are unsure of any aspect of our festival please feel free to call us.
  • Booth fees are non-refundable. Additionally, a $25/month late fee will be applied to booth fees not paid by June 30.
  • When we receive your booth fee and confirmation form, we will email your tags and information about preparing your items.

Thanks for participating!

Festival Timeline and Due Dates

Wednesday, June 30
Deadline for booth payment and confirmation form. Submit Booth Payment online, over the phone, or to the Allied Arts Office.
There will be a $25/month late fee applied to booth fees not paid by June 30.

Friday, October 1 Security Shift Schedule available for sign up at www.alliedarts.org.

Tuesday & Wednesday November 16 & 17
Booth Set-up: 10am – 6pm

 

Friday, November 19 – Friday, December 24

Festival Hours: Everyday (yep 7 days a week!)  10am – 7pm|
Closed Thanksgiving Day & Closed 3pm on Fri. Dec. 24th

 

December 24, 26 & 27
Take Down and Clean Up
Thur, Dec. 24th: 3pm – 4pm
Sat Dec. 26th: 10am – 5pm
Sun, Dec. 27th: 10am – 1pm

 

Booth Info

Booth Fee: $195 for 3’x6’ size due June 30. $25/month late fee applied to booth fees not paid by June 30.

Artists supply their own tables and display furniture. Power is available but you need to supply your own 3-prong extension cord and power strip with fuse. Each booth is limited to four light fixtures using low wattage bulbs.

You are welcome to use your own locked cases and we will have a dedicated person with keys. An effort will be made to place booths with higher value, small items closer to the register area.

Commission Rates

A flat 30% commission will be taken from sales at the Holiday Festival as long as you work your REQUIRED three 3-hour shifts. These shifts must be signed off at the festival by Allied Arts Staff to be completed. 

Festival Location

Due to local property management practices we may not be able to announce the festival location until October.

Festival Guidelines

Please the following guidelines carefully. Allied Arts reserves the right to remove vendors who do not comply.

  •  3’ x 6’ booths cost $195. Double booths are double fees. A $25/month late fee will be applied to booth fees not paid by June 30. Vendors who do not pay applicable fees by August 30 will be removed form the festival roster.
  • Each participant is required to complete three (3) 3-hour shifts to qualify for the 30% commission rate, those to fail to complete their shifts will be charged a 50% commission on sales. 
  • Artists may only display work in the categories in which they are accepted.
  • All work must be hand-made & of original design: no work from kits, commercial plans, mass produced, factory made or assembled items are permitted.
  • The artist must have direct, hands on involvement over the creative and production processes.
  • Artists may not exhibit the work of other artists.
  • No more than two artists may collaborate on work for one booth.
  • All work displayed must be of the quality submitted for jurying. Allied Arts reserves the right to remove items that are not of the quality and/or category approved through the jury process.
  • Work must be merchandised within the allotted booth space in a creative and artistic manner.
  • Allied Arts of Whatcom County reserves the right to make any necessary alteration to a booth to attain the highest level of presentation. 
  • Inventory must be maintained and priced at a reasonable level throughout the duration of the show. Allied Arts of Whatcom County reserves the right to refuse future participation to any artist not maintaining their inventory. 
  • Power is available but you need to supply your own 3-prong extension cord and power strip with fuse. You must use low wattage CFL or LED lights. 
  • Glitter, confetti, sand or other small particulates may not be used to decorate booths. 
  • Vendors may not hang anything from the walls. This includes using nails, thumbtacks, sticky tack etc. If you wish to use vertical space behind your booth, you must provide your own temporary walls (such as grid-wall or pro-panels). 
  • All products must be marked using customized tags provided by Allied Arts. Tags will be sent when we receive your booth fee. See below for details. 
  • Each vendor must fill out a new W-9 form every year, it is included in your mailed packet, they are also available on the IRS website. Please fill one out and return it to Allied Arts before October 1.
  • We encourage artists to have their name or business name visible at their booth. Brochures, business cards or flyers are good to have available at your booth for both patrons and staff. 
  • Vendors may not offer deals or sales on items without first discussing it with Allied Arts Staff.

Holiday Festival Security Shift Requirements

Each vendor is required to complete three (3) 3-hour shifts for a total of 9 hours. Shifts are to be worked during the festival, but a few openings will be available to help with setup or takedown. To ensure accuracy of transactions, vendors will not be able to complete their shifts as cashiers.

RESPONSIBILITIES

  1. You may make arrangements for a representative to complete your security shifts but you will be held responsible for their compliance with all the requirements listed here and their performance. If your representative fails to complete any portion of this agreement, your commission and/or future participation may be affected.
  2. You or your representative must contact the Festival Director at katy@alliedarts.org or
    (360)676-8548 ex. 2, 24 hours in advance if a security shift needs to be rescheduled.
  3. All participants must arrive 5 minutes before their shift is scheduled to start. Arriving more than 15 minutes late will require that additional time is worked on another shift.
  4. All participants will remain alert and in their assigned area. It is important that all areas are covered adequately. Congregating, sitting, cell phone use, eating or reading is not allowed during security shifts. Breaks are allowed upon approval of the floor manager.
  5. Please do not eat food vendor samples, those are for patrons.
  6. We ask that participants not bring their children to their security shift. Exceptions can be made for nursing mothers.
  7. Participants are responsible for checking displays and restocking booths as necessary.
  8. Participants are responsible for greeting customers and making them aware that you are available to assist them. This is an important part of creating a secure environment.
  9. Bored? We will have a checklist of daily chores to be done, ask for it at the sales desk.

Some of the security shift responsibilities will include:

  • Making baskets available to shoppers as necessary and assisting in taking small   items to the check stand to help lessen the opportunity for shop-lifting.
  • Asking shoppers with backpacks or bags to check them at the front registers.
  • Observing behaviors and making the floor manager aware of any suspicious    activities
  • Transferring all jewelry from locked cases to front registers for purchase.

SCHEDULING:

A sign-up sheet for security shifts will be available online at www.alliedarts.org by Thursday, October 1st. Please schedule your shifts as much in advance as possible to ensure that Allied Arts can determine security shift needs..

CONDITIONS:

If you or your representative fails to meet the responsibilities listed above or complete the required number of shifts prior to the end of the Festival, your participation in future Allied Arts events may be affected and/or a commission of 50% may be taken.

Barcoded Price Tags

We provide customized barcodes, that when scanned, enter your artist ID and price into the register. It means more accurate accounting and the ability to give you a detailed sales record at the end of the festival.

What we need from you

  • If you are a new vendor: On confirmation form, please fill out your 5 most commonly used price points. We will then email you sheets of with these prices as well as a “blank” tag that enables you to fill in any extraneous prices. Each of these tags will need to be affixed to your items.
  • If you participated last year: You may continue using the tags we sent you last year and may add up to 5 more prices to what we already have on file for you. We have included a list of the prices already on file, please annotate as needed and return with your Confirmation Form if needed.

Online Store

In addition to our in-person festival we will be offering an online option for customers to shop. This year vendors will have the option to set up an online store and sell their products online as well as at their booths.

Vendor Logistics

  • Vendors will get an online store with the ability to upload an unlimited number of items (but please don’t!) Up to 1 hour of free tech support is available. More support available upon request. 
  • A very thorough, well tested and clear tutorial has been created by our tech guru Ethan D’Onofrio and informed by our vendor beta testers. 
  • 30% commission retained on all sales, vendors will be paid no later than January 15. Allied Arts will pay sales tax and credit card processing fees. 
  • Vendors will have a 3’ x 3’ x 6’ spot available for inventory. If you have a shelf that is that dimension or larger, feel free to bring it in. 
  • Inventory items need to be well labeled to match SKU’s or descriptions used in your store. 
  • After customers place an order online , inventory items will be picked by staff from the booths. Please ensure the number of items you input into the system matches the number of items you bring us.

Advertising and Publicity

Allied Arts of Whatcom County will use online, radio, and newspaper/magazine advertising as well as printed materials such as posters and hand-bills to promote the Holiday Festival. We like to use images of participating vendor’s work on these materials.

If you did not submit high-quality digital images with your application, please do so on this form or email Katy Tolles(katy@alliedarts.org) with this as soon as possible. If your images are not of the quality we need, you will not be used on any publicity.

Help spread the word

How you can help get the word out about this great festival:

  • Like the Holiday Festival related posts and events on Facebook and follow us on Twitter and Instagram
  • Link your website to the Holiday Festival page on our website
  • Pick up posters and postcards (available in October) to post around town
  • Mention the Holiday Festival on your blog or online calendar
  • Word-of-Mouth: tell everyone you know to come on down and shop!