31 Days - Day 2: Find a Craft Show

It would be great if we could all live near a big, famous craft show and also be able to reserve a booth there, but this always isn't possible.  There are many things to weigh out when making the decision about which shows to do.

First of all, there are several place online that you can find craft shows to consider.

1. Recommendations - Ask trusted friends who like to go to craft shows, what are the good ones in the area to go to.  This is how I found the one in our town, since I'm new to the area.  The other great thing about doing this, is you can get unsolicited advice about where is a good place to reserve your booth for.
2. Craigslist - do a search for "Craft Show" in the left side bar in your area.  I did this and found two possible shows in the area.
3. Online Lists - Here are some I found that are free to look: Festival Net, Craft Lister.com, Crafty Shows and Fairs
4. Chamber of Commerce - contact the local Chamber to see if they have a listing.  

The second thing to consider is the distance you are willing to travel.  At this point, I'm not sure I want to travel very far at this point.  I want to sort of test the craft show market in my area.  You may want to travel farther for a more popular show.

The final thing that you will want to consider when finding and choosing a craft show is the size and popularity of the show.  Of course, it'd be great to be at the biggest and best, but there is something to be said about doing a more affordable show that you can actually get a booth at.  Often, the bigger shows are already booked the year before at the last show.  Once you get into the crafting vendor community, you may move your way into a more popular show by accident. (Someone will cancel and they'll give you a call on short notice for the spot and Voila! you are in!)

I hope this helps you find a craft show.  I'm sure that it is not an exhaustive list of places to find crafts shows, so please share what other ideas you may have in the comments. If you missed my first post in this series, you can go to it here: Decide to Do a Craft Show.  Be sure to check back tomorrow for Day 3: Pay for it & Read the Fine Print.

For a complete list of the 31 Day Until A Craft Show series and links to each post go Here to Day 31.