Craft Fair Vendor Guidelines

Craft Fair Dates

Saturday, November 2, 9 am-3 pm

Craft Fair Registration

You must register in person at the Community Recreation Center, 6842 Wadsworth Blvd., Arvada.

Craft Fair Coordinator: 303.425.9583.

Registration Opens

• August 19 for residents.
• August 20 for non-residents.

Hours of Registration

Monday-Friday, 8:15 am-4 pm, or by appointment, call 303.467.7196.

Booths are assigned on a first-come, first-served basis. Tables cannot be reserved prior to the registration dates — no exceptions. If you cannot be here on the registration day, perhaps a friend or neighbor can register for you.

Fees

Cash, checks (payable to Apex Park and Recreation District), MasterCard, Discover, VISA or American Express.

Receiving Resident Discount

To receive the resident discount, you must have your residency status verified. Two proofs of residency with a current address are required (driver’s license, utility bill or vehicle registration) at the time of registration.

Craft Vendors

At least 70% of items in craft vendors’ booths must be hand-made per hand-crafted locally by sellers, their families, or their clubs. No more than 30% of the items can be commercial in nature (i.e., make-up, sticker packs, manufactured toys, etc.). Apex PRD reserves the right to ask vendors to remove items that don’t meet craft guidelines.

• Craft vendor resident discount fee per table: $48
• Craft vendor non-resident fee per table: $60
• Craft vendor resident discount fee per table (along the wall): $54
• Craft vendor non-resident fee per table (along the wall): $68

Commercial Vendors

Vendors whose products are franchised, imported and/or less than 70% hand-crafted by sellers or their clubs. To maintain the “craft fair” focus of this event, we are limiting commercial tables to 10% of available tables unless there are openings after October 15. Commercial vendors’ products must have a “craft or “gift” focus in order to be sold. Apex PRD reserves the right to ask vendors to remove items that don’t meet craft guidelines.

• Commercial vendor resident discount fee per table: $67
• Commercial vendor non-resident fee per table: $84
• Commercial vendor resident discount fee per table (along the wall): $74
• Commercial vendor non-resident fee per table (along the wall): $93

Vendor Set Up Time

Starts at 7 am on Saturday. We can’t accommodate you earlier than 7 am. Please be at your table 15 minutes prior to fair openings to ensure a smooth start. Vendors will receive two vendor name badges to be worn at all times for admittance into the fair.

Vendor Parking

To save room for shoppers during the fair, vendors and their families are asked not to park in the three Community Recreation Center parking lots (north, west and south). After you unload, please park on neighborhood streets.

Guidelines and Information

We ask that you agree to these guidelines to ensure a quality craft fair that is profitable for vendors and appealing to shoppers:

Art and Crafts

Apex PRD is not responsible for lost, stolen, or broken merchandise. Plan to watch your table carefully.
This is not a juried fair; please do not send photos or product samples.

Trademarks: If you have a trademarked or franchised product such as Avon, Mary Kay, Discovery Toys, Party Lites, etc., Apex PRD will make every effort to ensure that only one vendor per product line is sold in a space. However, since we do not require vendors to detail their merchandise, we cannot guarantee that duplication will not occur.

Items sold must be of a “craft” or “gift” nature; no food concessions are allowed. Packaged cookie mix is fine, but not hot dog stands. All food items sold must meet state health regulations.

Money and Taxes

Vendors are responsible for their own money. Please bring plenty of change.

Vendors are responsible for collecting, reporting and submitting required taxes to the proper authorities. Both the City of Arvada and the State of Colorado closely monitor craft events to see that vendors are properly submitting taxes. All vendors, profit or non-profit, must obtain a Colorado Special Event Sales Tax License prior to the start of the fair. Applications are available at the Community Recreation Center. Once you receive your state license, report your license number to the Community Recreation Center. The City of Arvada does not require special event vendors to be licensed with the city; however, you will need to complete a special event Sales and Use tax return after the completion of the fair. City of Arvada special event forms will be distributed to vendors at the fair, not prior. Total sales tax is 7.96% (2.90% State, 3.46% City, 1.10% RTD/CD/FD, .50% Jefferson County).

Booth Space

A rented space is approximately 8' long by 4' wide. Most tables that we provide are 8' by 2 1/2'. The additional width of the space is for two chairs behind the table. Due to fire, safety and accessibility codes, displays cannot extend beyond this space. If you need more space for shelving, racks, or other display items, we suggest you rent additional space to accommodate your needs. Please note that there is a 3-table maximum. Please be considerate of neighboring vendors and do not block aisles or their display areas. Staff may ask vendors to alter their displays if they are not within rented space or if they impose a safety hazard.

Only booths along the walls may access the electrical power. For safety reasons, we will not allow vendors to run electrical cords across any aisles. Tables that have electrical access or wall space are charged a slightly higher fee. Vendors must supply their own extension cords.

We recommend that vendors bring festive table coverings for their rented tables to enhance their displays.

Because of space limitations, please limit the number of persons behind your tables to two. Please do not allow children behind your rented space or allow them to remain unattended at the fair.

Vendors may not use nails or tacks to hang items on the walls.

Set Up/Tear Down Times

Vendors who do not arrive at the facility 30 minutes before public opening time are considered “no-shows,” and their tables may be relinquished to new vendors. No refunds are given for “no-shows.”

The fair’s advertised hours are Saturday, 9 am-3 pm. It reflects poorly on the fair when shoppers arrive during published hours to find that vendors have left or are in the process of dismantling their displays. All vendors must agree to sell for the full duration of the fair.

On Saturday, vendors must remove their crafts and displays from the premises between 3 pm and 4 pm.

Miscellaneous

Shopper admission is $2 at the door or free with a donation of school supplies. All Apex PRD facilities are vapor and smoke-free. Smokers must step completely outdoors, away from the entrance, for smoking breaks.

Please notify the Community Recreation Center as soon as possible if you need to cancel your space. Refunds for cancellations requested at least 7 days prior to the event will receive the registration fee minus a $5 per table service charge. No refunds will be issued within seven days of the fair.

Food concessions will be available during the fair.

The Craft Carousel Gift Shop will be open during the fair for shopping only. We encourage craft vendors to visit the shop, as we accept adult consignors of any age. Please do not consign items on the fair date. Consignment hours are 9 am-3 pm, Monday-Friday. The shop keeps 20% of consigned prices, with proceeds benefiting the Community Recreation Center.

In case of inclement weather, the fair will go on — there are no refunds if you choose not to attend. Only in the event of a declared “state of emergency” will the staff consider postponing the fair.

Publicity

The Community Recreation Center publicizes the fair through paid advertising and/or public service announcements in the metro-wide Arvada Press, 50+ Marketplace News and Primetime News. We also distribute information in our district-wide Rundown, the Active Adults Highlights, on our website and on our electronic marquee. We also print and post over 800 flyers.

The best publicity for any event is word of mouth, so pitch in and ask your friends and neighbors to visit. Free admission will be granted to all individuals who bring school supplies for our local student outreach. Promotional flyers are available at the Community Recreation Center. We encourage you to pick them up and post them at places you frequent (churches, clubs, laundromats, stores, beauty shops, etc.). We also have postcards available at registration that you can mail to your friends announcing your participation in the craft fair.

Please contact the Community Recreation Center at 303.425.9583 or [email protected] if you have any questions.