5 Ways to Find Local Craft Shows and Fairs

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If you are planning on selling at art or craft shows during this fall and holiday season, now is the best time to start planning and gathering information. Today, let’s take a look at how to actually find shows in your area.

5 Ways to Find Craft Shows in Your Area

1. Use a large scale craft show directory online. Some good places to start include: Festival Net, CraftMaster News (by subscription only), and my favorite CraftLister. (They also list non-craft events, and I have discovered lots of neat places to go with my kids!) Don’t forget, you can also search Google for “craft shows (your state)”.
2. Look in your local newspaper or arts and crafts magazines. Often times, craft show organizers put up classified ads in local newspapers to help find vendors in the months before their show. They advertise once again for shoppers when the show or fair is closer. Also, look in the back of arts and crafts magazines for upcoming shows or fairs. If you don’t want to purchase a copy of major crafting publications, feel free to visit your local book store or library.
3. Reach out to local churches, schools, service organizations, and women’s groups to see if they have any upcoming shows or fairs planned.
4. Talk to other crafters. Visit your local craft store and ask around. Having worked at Michaels Arts and Crafts as an instructor, I can tell you that most of the people that work in craft stores also craft. Many have their own crafting businesses on the side, and may also attend shows or fairs. Additionally, our local Michaels, Joanns, and Hobby Lobby are have bulletin boards in the front of their stores with upcoming craft show information.
5. Browse social media. Take some time and start looking through social media like Facebook. There are bound to be crafters and organizers talking about upcoming shows.

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Christine Schinagl, Cutting for Business

Since 2015, Christine Schinagl has been helping crafters start and run craft businesses through her blog, Cutting for Business. As a Silhouette and Cricut crafter herself, she has a unique take on what works and what doesn’t work in the craft business world. She also teaches a course on creating digital SVG designs, available at How to Design SVGs.

cuttingforbusiness.com