Strawberry Music Festival Artisan Tent (Spring 2023)

May 25-28, 2023

Nevada County Fairgrounds, Grass Valley, CA

Contact: sierra.artisan@gmail.com        

APPLICATIONS CLOSED FOR 2023

Festival info:

Strawberry Music kicks off the festival season with a family-friendly camping music festival on Memorial Day weekend in the Sierra Nevada foothills. The Strawberry Music Festival presents the gold standard in main stage entertainment, intimate side stage performances, legendary camp jam culture, top-notch children’s programming, workshops and activities for the whole family, and some of the nicest people you will ever meet. The Spring Festival is located at the Nevada County Fairgrounds, a beautiful park-like setting, on nearly 100 acres of conifer forest. The Spring 2023 festival will be the 71st Strawberry Music Festival.

Strawberry’s Artisan Tent showcases a wide variety of handmade wares from 15-20 featured artists. All Strawberry artisans are housed under one 3900 square foot tent and share a cooperatively run central cashier. The community atmosphere in the Artisan Tent embraces ‘The Strawberry Way,’ with a spirit of consideration, cooperation, kindness, and generosity that creates a unique vendor experience.

Eligibility:

All artisans exhibiting work in the Strawberry Artisan Tent will meet the following requirements:

• All work will be handmade by the artist. Imports are not allowed.
• Work displayed must be consistent in quality and style with the images submitted in the application.
• Artists may not sell work outside of their application’s identified product category (i.e. ceramics, jewelry, painting, etc.)
• Artists may not sell or exhibit work of another artist.
• The artist will attend the show, be present in the Artisan Tent, and contribute to the community effort.
• No weapons or drug paraphernalia allowed.

Strawberry Music Festival’s COVID-19 Requirements:

Circumstances regarding COVID-19 are still evolving, and we cannot possibly know now what the situation will be in May. Therefore, Strawberry’s complete list of COVID-19 requirements for 2023 will be published closer to the festival, and no later than April 24, 2023.

Last year at this time, we asked all attendees to be ready, willing, and able to show proof of vaccination, show proof of a negative test result, wear a face covering indoors, as well as outdoors when a 6’ distance is not possible, AND submit to a temperature reading. However, by the time the festival took place, Strawberry only required attendees to show proof of vaccination OR a negative test result. At a minimum, we will require all attendees to follow the guidelines issued by the county and state at the time of the festival. It is not likely we will choose to use the CrowdPass verification platform again in 2023. Regardless, Strawberry reserves the right to implement any and/or all these requirements for the upcoming Spring Festival.

Nothing is more important than the well-being of our attendees, as well as Nevada County residents. Anywhere there are large gatherings of people, there is risk of transmission of COVID-19, and ultimately, you will have to assess and assume that risk for yourself. If we work together, and each of us does our part, we can minimize the risk and protect each other from illness.

All attendees must also comply with Strawberry’s complete list of Terms and Rules to be posted on Strawberry’s website when tickets are on sale. Policies are subject to change, so please check the website before traveling to the event venue. Please be aware that tickets are non-refundable.

Thank you for your understanding and cooperation.

Application requirements due by March 1, 2023:

• Completed online application form
• Digital Images:

• 4 photos of completed work
• 1 photo of booth display
• 1 photo of artist at work

• $25 Application Fee

Key Dates:

• March 1: Applications due
• March 8: Artist invitations sent by email
• March 29: Contract & non-refundable booth fee due
• April 5: Waitlist invitation sent by email
• April 19: Waitlist contracts & non-refundable booth fee due
• May 24: Load in & set up
• May 25-28: Artisan Tent open
• May 29: Load out

Booth Sizes & Fees:

Booth size preferences will be submitted in the application, and invitations will include a map with booth assignments. Many booths have at least 2 sides fronting aisles, and there are some opportunities to add small displays in shared aisles, the area in front of the tent, or near the cashier. Please describe any specific booth requests in your application so we can do our best to accommodate them during the assignment process.

Upon invitation, the following non-refundable booth fees must be paid on time to guarantee your placement in the Artisan Tent.

• Small (10’x5’): $200
• Standard (10’x10’): $350
• Double (20’x10’): $700

Electricity:

The Artisan Tent has ambient lighting. An electrical outlet can be provided for some booths in the tent for a fee of $25. Artists requesting an outlet agree to avoid high-wattage electrical loads, manage cords to prevent hazards, & meet any requests to comply with fire safety guidelines. Generators are not allowed.

Artisan Payment & Commission:

All customers must pay for their purchases at the central cashier in the Artisan Tent. Strawberry Music Festival collects a 12% commission from all sales, which will be deducted from each Artisan’s payment. At the end of the festival cash payments will be provided to artists as available cash allows. Customer purchases made by credit card require a few days to settle and will be paid out to artists via a check mailed within 5 business days of the festival’s end.

Sales Tax:

All required sales tax will be added to the customer’s purchase price at check out. Because we use a central cashier, Sierra Artisans is considered the retailer and will remit all sales tax collected to the State of California. Exhibiting artists will not be responsible for payment of sales tax for goods sold at the festival.

Load in & Set up:

12:00 pm Wednesday: Gates open for Artisan arrival. The Artisan Tent will be ready for artist set up.

10:00 am Thursday: Deadline for Artist check-in. Arriving late may lead to your booth space being reassigned.

12:00 pm Thursday: Load in complete and vehicles removed.

3:00 pm Thursday: Set-up complete and Artisan tent opens to the public

9:30 am Friday: Morning meeting for all Artisans

Artisan Tent Hours:

Thursday: 3 pm until last act begins

Friday: 10 am until last act begins

Saturday: 10 am until last act begins

Sunday: 12 pm until last act begins

The last act on the main stage typically begins between 8:30pm and 10pm. The Artisan Tent closes shortly thereafter, once shopping starts to slow.

Load out:

Artists may begin packing up after the artisan tent closes on Sunday night. Vehicles will not be allowed into the Artisan tent area until 30 minutes after the last act ends. All load out must be completed by 10 am on Monday morning.

Vehicles:

In order to protect personal safety, festival resources, and festival grounds, artisans will be expected to adhere to the following rules when driving the grounds.

• Please do not drive on the music meadow without special permission from Strawberry management. Load-in/load-out from your vehicle parked on the road behind the artisan tent.
• Driving on the Gold Path is strictly prohibited.
• Do not drive over any electrical cords. Failure to follow this rule can result in being held responsible for the cost of cord replacement.
• Artists will not have vehicle access to the Artisan Tent between 1 pm Thursday until 30 minutes after the last act ends on Sunday. Please plan accordingly.

Security:

Strawberry provides general security functions at the festival. Strawberry Music Festival and Sierra Artisan Productions are not financially liable for losses or damages of any kind. Artisans are advised to take preventative measures and acquire appropriate insurance to protect themselves from any theft or damage to their work that may occur.

Tickets:

Each artisan will be provided one or two 4 day adult camping tickets to the festival. Artisans who request two tickets will be expected to contribute to daily shifts as roving sales assistants.

Weather:

Over decades of festivals in the Sierra Nevada, the Strawberry Music Festival has seen weather conditions ranging from snow to blazing heat. Artisans are expected to exhibit their work rain or shine.