by guest blogger Connie Mettler
Each year, Art Fair Calendar surveys art lovers and fans to determine and rank the best fairs and festivals in the U.S. Here’s their 2020 lineup.
The Kimball Arts Festival in Park City, Utah made the top 10 list.
Chicago’s Old Town Art Fair was named the #1 art fair in the country in the 2019 ArtFairCalendar.com’s 8th “Best Art Fair Survey.” This is the fifth time in a row that Old Town has won this award.
The Old Town Fair is “Located in the midst of a beautiful (old architecture) city neighborhood. They offer good food, good music and lots to see beyond the art. Visitors enjoy the energy of a major city and the art at the same time.” On top of being ranked #1 , it was also chosen as the nation’s “Favorite Urban Art Fair.”
The most surprising fact about this year’s survey is that even though Old Town maintained the #1 ranking, six festivals were new to the Top Ten.
Rounding out the top ten were:
- Park City Kimball Arts Festival in Park City, Utah (new). “”Extremely high quality, great variety, wide price range.” Also ranked as #1 Best Western Art Fair.
- American Craft Exposition, Glencoe, IL (new). “Quality of crafts, the setting and the bonus of supporting a good cause.” Also ranked as Best Midwest Art Fair.
- Long’s Park Art Festival, Lancaster, PA (new). “Wide variety of excellent art and craft presentations in a beautiful outdoor setting. Also ranked #1 Best East Coast Art Fair.
- Smithsonian Craft Show in Washington, DC (new). “Excellent artisan crafts high level skill and beauty.”
- Winter Park Sidewalk Art Festival, Winter Park, FL. “The art is incredible. I travel over 1,000 miles for this show.” Also ranked as #1 Best Southern Art Fair
- Geneva Arts Fair in Geneva, IL. “High quality art exhibitors, impressive selection of art mediums and styles, awesome location in downtown …”
- St. James Court Art Show, Louisville, KY (new). “Great variety of art during the most beautiful time of year in the River City.”
- Lakeshore Art Festival in Muskegon, MI. “Cool art, yummy treats, fun downtown atmosphere.”
- Des Moines Arts Festival in DesMoines, IA (new). “Great vendors, surprising variety of art, wonderful location downtown, friendly people of all walks of life.”
Art Fair Calendar‘s mission is to bring art lovers to the nation’s fine art festivals and craft shows. We go beyond the usual surveys about art fairs directed at artists and ask our 56,000 art fair subscriber list to share their favorites.
In addition to this “Top Ten” list, Art Fair Calendar publishes lists of the best fairs on the East Coast, Midwest, South, and West, as well as favorite urban fairs and small town fairs. Don’t miss all of their survey results, including the Top 50 fairs, which can be found here.
This is such an informative blog, especially for the artists looking for festivals to portray their art. Good Work. I’ve read similar blogs on FestivalNet. Check them out.