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Saturday, Oct 11, 2008 Updated 7:22PM ET

Fairs and Festivals Boost Economies

By Jared Willaby

In a time once economic times are tough, one bright spot is craft shows, fairs and festivals. In the second quarter alone, local festivals wedged the local economy and brought in an calculable $4.1 Billion to United States neighborhoods, according to the Craft Organization Directors Association (CODA). Not only do craft shows fiscal plus to economies, but the events rekindle the foundation that supported societies for decades: local arts and crafts.

Craft Shows in Today's Economy

By Kerry McKinsey

Today's economic conditions have spurred a change in some artists and craft show revelers. A rekindled outlook on the "sustainable" and topically fresh full-grown products is coming to the forefront. Such a development may include the desire for much organically make foods; they are blockbusters at this year's fairs and festivals. Local art and constructed craft goods are besides a hit. From hand ready-made article of clothing to jewelry, craft show goers are now much inclined to purchase green and property art.

How to Become a Food Vendor

Possibly one of the most profitable niches in this industry can be a food artist. We'll show you the ins and outs of serving up delicious food at your favorite events.

Event Checklist

Be prepared before you head out to your show. Use this checklist for a stress-free show day allowing you to devote much time to your artwork.

Juried vs. Non-Juried

The difference between juried and non-juried shows and what it can mean for your business' bottom line.

Craft Shows and Taxes

The benefits of your own crafting business include acquiring those well due tax breaks. We'll show you how to account for your taxes as a small business owner piece keeping your hard attained money from the grasps of Uncle Sam.

Pricing Your Art

Putting a cost tag on your crafts can be intimidating. We'll show you how to measure the heart and sweat you put into creating your art.

Etsy Success

Part 1 in the Series: Your own e-commerce website or Etsy? In this article we list the pros and cons of crafters who build (or who hire to build there own website) versus merchandising through an online marketplace like Etsy. Amazon and eBay have dug their own niche in the online buying and merchandising market and Etsy is on its way to becoming the industry standard for merchandising camp-made art. Buyers and shoppers of such crafts are raving just about the galore features of Etsy and we'll show you how to take advantage.

Kids and Art

How you can get your kids involved early. Events such as house craft shows wish stimulate your kids to become artistically creative. Money management lessons can besides be instructed at an early age through fun crafting projects for kids and hands-on inters.