Our next fair

 

 

Our next fair will be a “Spirit Fest” held August 21/22, 2010 in the beautiful executive space at the Holiday Inn Express in Germantown, TN.    Fair hours are Saturday, 8/21 11:00-6:00 and Sunday, 8/22 12:00-5:00.  Set up is the day before (Friday, 8/20) from 4-6pm or after 8:30am on Saturday .  We have several hours to break down on Sunday evening.  We will have speakers every hour, and each speaker has approximately 45 minutes.  The list of speakers is advertised well in advance of the fair because this is a popular draw for attendees.  This is going to be our biggest fair yet with the most advertising aimed at the mainstream and new attendees, and an impressive lineup of speakers.  This fair is intended to honor spirit— and anything that helps us to connect, feel good about ourselves, or teaches us new things will be a fit for this fair.  

Prices for booths are: 4x8’ is $96, 6x8’ is $144, 8x8’ $192, 8x10’ is $240, and 8x16’ corner spaces are $300.  If you require additional space we can gladly accommodate. We will  allow vendors to rent smaller-than-usual spaces for this fair on a trial basis.  These spaces are for organizations that require only a card table or TV tray to put literature out on, or readers that use a card table and have no signage.  You MUST be sure you can fit inside these parameters exactly of 4x8 or 6x8.  The spirit of renting these smaller booths is to accommodate groups who do not have items to sell or new readers who may not be able to afford a full sized booths. Electricity is supplied if requested in advance.  You may rent tables for $10 each.  Chairs are included at no cost.

All vendors will be listed on our website until the next fair, which is 3 months.  Our website does come up in search engines so this will be additional advertising for you.  We have many repeat vendors who will give references to the steady attendance we have at our fairs and to the rate of sales they consistently see at our fairs. 

Saturday morning of the fair we leave envelopes and a menu to a local sandwich shop.  You may order sandwiches by giving us your order and payment at the beginning of the fair and we’ll have them delivered to you.  We also have drinks, chips, and cookies for sale during the fair.  Hotel rooms are reserved for our vendors, a king is $85 and doubles are $90 before taxes.  Room rates include breakfast.  Many restaurants and shopping are nearby.

Special considerations:

· Even booths along the outside perimeter of the room may not have a full wall behind them.  Let us know if you need a solid wall to hang signage.  Some walls have a counter along them which will accommodate signs with bases.

· We expect this fair to sell out.  We absolutely cannot guarantee specific placement of your booth, but will happily take requests and honor them if we can.  Those who have done our past fairs know that we do a good job of  laying out booth placements.  When we arrange the layout of the fair, our decisions are final.  No one will be moved, no exceptions.  Requests for electricity or a solid wall behind you do not apply to this, we can promise to accommodate those.

· Memphis (currently) has a small alternative community.  We cannot sustain other metaphysical fairs or similar events the weeks before or after our fair.  Vendors will need to agree NOT to participate in any other metaphysical, spiritual, holistic, or similar (mind/body/spirit) fairs, mini-fairs, expos, festivals or non-regular business the week before or the week after our fair in Memphis or within a 60 mile radius.  Vendors who are listed as participants in advertising of other fairs or actually participate will forfeit any monies paid toward Spirit Fest and will not be allowed to rent space.  The spirit of this stipulation is clear, exact wording of other events need not be specific to be considered a conflict of interest.  This is to promote the vendors that are coming in from out of town just for our fair.  It’s not that we don’t want other businesses to do well, it’s that we want our vendors to support our fair to the best of their ability as the majority of our participants do.  If you’re unsure about a local event, just ask.

 If you wish to be a vendor at this fair, let us know the following:

What size space do you need?

Do you need to rent a table?  If so how many?

Do you need electricity?

Do you need to be up against a wall? 

Would you like to speak?  If so, let us know the name of your topic as soon as possible so we can include it in advertising.  Speakers have 45 minutes.  If you need time to interact or sell products, please plan accordingly so that the next lecturer has time to set up and begin on time.

What will you be selling or services be offered?  Be very specific.  You may add or change later with permission.

Notify us by email at info@midsouthsanctuary.com and we will mail you a contract. 

 

Rules:

· Payments are refundable up until 4 weeks prior to the fair.  No refunds will be issued after July 21st.  No exceptions.  If you can find someone to take your place we will accommodate spaces being exchanged.

· Set up must be completed by 11:00am Saturday.  Breakdown cannot begin before 4:00pm on Sunday.  These are policies in effect at every fair across the country and must be adhered to.  If you are not ready on time for the start of the fair, if you do not return the 2nd day, or leave early, you may not be allowed to be a vendor in the future.  You must have someone occupying your booth during the fair.  If you would like to take advantage of other vendors, budget your time very carefully so your booth does not remain unattended for long. 

· No handwritten signs.

· We need to know what services you will provide or what you are selling, as completely as possible.  This is important because sometimes we give exclusive rights to certain products and we need to know what others are offering for booth placement.   If you want to offer something at the last minute, just let us know first.

· Booth sharing is allowed.  The contact person for the booth is responsible for notifying Sanctuary production of other vendors they are sharing space with and what services they will be providing and what they will be selling.   The contact person is also responsible for ensuring that additional vendors are aware of our rules.

· Open flame is allowed for candles that are complementary to table displays and MUST be extinguished when you are away from your table, especially at night.

· Children under the age of 12 are not allowed  to remain with vendors.  Period.  No exceptions.

· *This is important:  anything adhered to the walls MUST be done with the removable strips or putty that will not stick to walls.  If there is any damage to walls, carpeting, or any other hotel property, you will be liable for the cost of damages even if you used non-stick or removable supplies.  This has happened in the past, so be forewarned when trusting these products.

· All trash must be picked up and thrown into a garbage can or dumpster.  The church does not include clean up in our rental fee.

 

Suggestions for new vendors:

Typical fairs consist of booths tightly spaced with everyone working close together.  However, the average noise level in the room is usually not high.  There are usually marks on the floor or something to help indicate the boundaries of your booth space.  You may want to place your table on the outside perimeter of your booth and sit behind it to talk to people.  Or, you may want it on the back perimeter of your booth and “invite people in”.  You may use a 6’ table, or you may consider a card table and other small tables to make your space more interesting.  Definitely have a cover for your table.   Plastic tablecloths in every color are available at dollar stores, but a solid color sheet works nicely too if you do not have a specific table covering for your booth.  Consider bringing handouts or business cards to give out.

Signage is important.  You can print a sign easily on the computer, it does not need to be fancy.  If you offer a service, detail what you offer and how much it costs.  Also have a sign up sheet for when you are busy with a client and other people would like to be next.  If you offer items for sale, make sure everything is well marked.  The more information you have for people to look at, the more likely the chance people will slow down to look.  Avoid handwritten signs that do not look professional.  Consider some type of decorations for your space.  Some people may only want a crystal, candle, flower vase or something simple, in addition to what they offer; others may want plants, a fountain, a cd player with music,  or other props.  You could consider covering your chairs if customers sit at your booth, or doing something else to make your space look special.

Do not forget a clipboard or tablet to get people’s contact information for your mailing list!  This is one of the most valuable things to be gained from doing a fair.

These are some suggestions from past fair vendors:  Do not leave your booth for longer than a few minutes.   Even if it seems slow at the time, people will not  slow down when they go by your space if you are not in it.  Try to look involved in something if you don’t have business at the moment, there seems to be an energy that goes with being bored which isn’t conducive to attracting customers.  Remember if it’s slow for an hour, the next few hours could be crazy busy– you just never know.  Experience at the fair shows there are no patterns or trends to follow when anticipating business.  Be ready for business all the time.  During lulls, some vendors will read for other vendors for a few minutes because potential customers are interested in what other people are doing at fairs.  Customers tend to congregate where other people are congregating.  If you are busy, other people will look to see what you’ve got that they may want.

Consider bring extra supplies such as extension cords, tape, calculator, note paper, gum, batteries, etc.

Don’t judge the success of a fair by what you have sold at the end.  The exposure  often leads to new business down the road.