When you are setting up your fair and festival calendar you need to take several things into consideration. When you reach the level where you are setting up at many different festivals, fairs, and flea markets than you need to plan well to make sure that you get into the festivals that you want to get into and that you choose the best fairs for your product.

If you plan on participating in several shows as a vendor or performer than you need to get organized. Participating in more than one festival, flea market, or fair can be a great opportunity if you are a vendor to have a chance to test out new markets.

For a performer or event vendor you’ ll have the chance to win over new fans and build your base. Planning ahead and choosing your festivals wisely is key in organizing your festival calendar. Follow these organizational tips to set up your fair and festival calendar and increase your chances of success on the festival circuit.

Plan Ahead

When organizing your fair and festival calendar it is wise to plan ahead. Make sure that you book your events ahead of time so that you can be assured that you have a vendor booth at the festival of your choice. If you are a performer you’ll want to send in your audition tape early or contact the festival organizer so that you’ll be able to perform during a certain festival.

You don’t want to wait until the last minute because things do get full. Since the best fairs and festivals get booked up to a year in advance, it is a good idea to hop on the bandwagon and book your space ahead of time. This can be difficult since you may have to put down a large deposit for an event several months or even a year ahead of time, but this is the only way to guarantee a spot at a good festival. You’ll want to plan around the festivals that you want to vend at and make sure they don’t have any conflicting dates.

You should also count travel time into the equation. You’ll have to travel from one fair to another and if they are back to back you’ll need to replenish your stock before hitting up the next festival. Make sure that you can make it from one to the other and get enough stock in between. It’s not worth it to sign up for a festival if you won’t be able to make it in time. Logistics are very important when coming up with your festival and fair calendar.

Choose The Right Festivals

When you are creating your festival calendar, you’ll want to choose wisely about which festivals to vend at. You need to pick the festivals and fairs where you’ll have the best base to vend your product. It can be helpful to talk to other vendors about the festival before hand so you know what kind of crowd it attracts.

Take this into consideration when you are choosing festivals. This is especially important when you have to choose one festival over the other in case of conflicting festivals. It can be hard to decide if you haven’t visited either festival or set up at either one, but take into account the amount of people that generally go to the festival. You can also use other indicators like the location, price of a space, and the length of the festival. Try to ask around as much as you can to determine which festival you should put on you festival or fair calendar.