Hollywood Festival of the Arts

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0><tr> <td valign="top" colspan=2 height=90 BGCOLOR="#006699" TEXT="#080000" background="05bfd5a3.jpg"> <div> <B>Hollywood Festival of the Arts</B></div> <div> <B>6260 N.W. 19 Street, Sun</B><B>rise, Fl. 33313 Toll Free 1-877-512-3333    Email: </B><A HREF="mailto:mike@mikealbin.com" TARGET="_top" TITLE="mailto:mike@mikealbin.com"><U><B>mike@mikealbin.com</B></U></A></div> </td> </tr><tr> <td valign="top" width=210 BGCOLOR="#FFCC66" TEXT="#080000" background="05cd2043.jpg"> <bR> <div> <A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Mike Albin.Com "><U>Mike Albin.Com </U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="wd.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Web design"><U>Web design</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="ma.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Marketing Articles"><U>Marketing Articles</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="sr.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Show Reviews"><U>Show Reviews</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="mt.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Marketing Tools"><U>Marketing Tools</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="l.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Links"><U>Links</U></A></div> </td> <td valign="top" height=390 BGCOLOR="#777777" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <B>October 21-22, Hollywood Festival of the Arts, Hollywood, Florida.</B> </div> <bR> <div> This show is put on by the city of Hollywood, and treatment of the artists is topnotch, with lots of space between booths, breakfast each morning, booth sitters, awards and day-before setup. Each artist receives a professionally made sign to hang in his or her booth, and the Festival is very well organized, thanks to the presence of City employees who stay near the show site to help with any issues that come up.</div> <div> With really nice restaurants and shops lining the street, this is a great location for an art show. The only problem (and it turned out to be a big one) was that very few people knew about the Festival. Attendance for the two days of really hot weather was probably between 2,000 and 3,000. Quite a few of the people who were walking the show commented, "I had no idea there was a show going on this weekend. We were just walking by and saw it." That's never a good thing! </div> <div> The really frustrating part of this weekend was that the special-events coordinator for the show had contacted me and another artist in June, seeking our advice on how to improve attendance and sales. We met with her several times and explained how to get the community involved, but nothing was done! They did change the name of the show and increase the award money for artists, but they failed miserably on promotion and community involvement. </div> <div> Sales for most artists ranged from well below average to lower than the booth fee. Unfortunately, I was one of those who did not make back my fee. I spoke with a photographer, a painter and a jeweler who failed to make enough to cover expenses. A woodworker sold two pieces for a total of $900, a painter sold seven pieces also for a total of $900, and a sculptor sold six pieces for a total of $1,000. </div> <div> Setup and breakdown were extremely easy, and there was enough room between booths for Patty and me to park our truck and trailer without blocking the street. It's just a shame that such a well-run show that offers such great treatment to its artists can't do a better job with promotion.</div> <div> We wouldn't come back to this show and wouldn't recommend it to anyone unless we saw in writing a much better promotional plan.</div> </td> </tr></table></body>