Each fair venue is unique, and some of the logistics are the same for all of them.
This is basic summary.

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FAIR HOURS

 

Fairs are 2 days, 2.5 days or 3 days. You can get a booth for all days or only 1 day. Our typical hours are Saturday 11am-7pm and Sunday 11am-5pm. Special events (e.g., paid workshops) typically happen before or after these hours. 

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SECURITY

 

You are welcome to leave your booth set up overnight. We hire security when we're in an open space (e.g., Bellevue, Lynnwood). I stay until the venue is locked, and I'm the first in every day. Of course, life has risks. Some people pack up the most valuable stuff each day, others have insurance, etc.

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SETUP TIME

 

Whenever affordable, we aim to let you set up your booth a day before. Sometimes that is simply not possible (e.g., Lynnwood, Bellevue, Ashland, Seaside, Olympia).

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When we have the venue a day ahead, we typically set up the venue at 11am. You can help for trade credit ($24/hr) towards your booth fee, then everyone can set up their booth from 4-7pm-ish. 

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For 2-day fairs, this happens on Friday. For 3-day fairs, this happens on Saturday. 

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On Friday (3-day fairs) and Saturday, booth setup usually starts at 8am, and the fair opens at 11am. On Sunday, booth setup usually starts at 9am, and the fair opens at 11am. Ask if you need more time.

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When we don't have the venue a day ahead, sometimes we do venue setup in the middle of the night or the wee hours of the early morning. Look for specific details from us. 

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For the 2.5 day fairs and 3-day fairs, we usually do a rolling setup, as some people are in all 3 days, some 2 days, etc. So people are setting up booths all the time.

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2.5 DAY FAIRS

 

We usually are doing venue setup starting sometime between 6-8am, then booth setup starting at 1pm. We then open to the public at 4pm. You are welcome to set up your booth while the fair is open in the evening. We continue with booth setup at 8am Saturday and 9am Sunday.​