Artist Information, Rules and Regulations
Labor Day Weekend is just around the corner and the final preparations are underway. We want all exhibitors to have a productive, fun and successful weekend while they are here. To this end, below is information which will help you prepare in advance of your arrival. Please take a moment to read all of it as it covers all necessary information with regard to logistics, policies and procedures for AFO artists.
Check out the 2010 video below!
Artist Booth Numbers, Name and Category
Artist List by booth number, last name and category
Artist Tent Maps
LODGING
The Festival's designated hotel is the Four Points by Sheraton Oklahoma City Airport. If you are coming into Oklahoma City from out of town and are in need of overnight lodging, this lodging partner will offer a special rate of $65/night to our artists. This price is good through the end of the Festival. The hotel is located about 3 miles from the Festival site and is also the location for the Artist Reception on Friday night. For more information, contact Julie Ford (405-681-3500, jf@kghotels.com).
Four Points by Sheraton Oklahoma City Airport
6300 E Terminal Drive
Oklahoma City, OK 73159
(405) 681-3500
Web Site: Four Points by Sheraton Oklahoma City Airport
Other hotels near the festival site.
ARTIST RECEPTION
We're trying something new in 2011. Instead of T-shirts, we're going to host an Artist Reception on Friday after Set-up. The Festival and its lodging partner, the Four Points by Sheraton, Oklahoma City Airport, will be hosting a come-and-go reception on September 2, 2011, beginning at 8:30 p.m. This will be a nice opportunity to network and meet new artists over light refreshments and appetizers. A cash bar and drink specials will be available for those of you who would like to enjoy cocktails during the reception. The reception will take place in the restaurant located inside the Hotel which is located a few miles northwest of the College at 6300 East Terminal Drive, Oklahoma City, OK 73159.
DIRECTIONS TO THE FESTIVAL SITE
The physical address of Oklahoma City Community College, where the Arts Festival Oklahoma site is located, is 7777 S. May Avenue, Oklahoma City, OK 73159. Closest highways to the College are I-240 and I-44/Hwy62/H.E. Bailey Turnpike. For directions to the college, simply input that address into Google.com or Mapquest.com.
ARRIVAL and CHECK-IN
There are two main entrances to the College; one off of S. May Avenue and one off of S.W. 74th Street. Entry to the festival grounds by ARTISTS will be limited to the College entrance on Southwest 74th Street. Once inside the College, proceed straight ahead to Parking Lot C (on right) and find a parking spot as close to the Festival site as possible; no parking zones will be clearly identified. Upon arrival, please check in at the Dining Tent.
BOOTH SET UP
Exhibitor set up is from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. on Friday. All Exhibitors must check-in by 6:00 p.m. on Friday or they will be considered a NO SHOW. All exhibits must be in place by 10:00 a.m. Saturday morning and remain in place until 5 p.m. Monday afternoon. Exhibitors may access their booths beginning at 7:00 a.m. Saturday morning to finish their set up. However, access to the Festival site from parking lot C on Saturday will not be available.
UNLOADING
No vehicles are allowed on site grounds at any time . Lot C is the designated TEMPORARY unloading/loading area. It is the closest parking area to the Festival site but it is still 350-500 feet away from any given booth. Plan accordingly and make arrangements for extra help if you will need it as there will be no one on site to help you unload unless you reserved help through Zapp. Please unload as quickly as possible and move your vehicle to the designated PERMANENT Artist/Food Vendor parking area, Parking Lot D. If you are in one of the backside booths, the easiest route is using the sidewalk that runs beside/behind the Children's tent. Ice water will be provided for artists all day long.
OCCC's responsibility, as an educational institution, is first and foremost to its students and faculty. Furthermore, Campus Safety and Security must ensure that certain areas, for which access is needed in case of emergencies, are not blocked. You will be sharing Parking Lot C so please be patient with students, faculty, volunteers and Festival staff as you set up on Friday. Parking demands on Friday drop significantly in the afternoon. While it is the warmest part of the day, parking will be easiest after 12:00 p.m. If you arrive prior to 12:00 p.m. on Friday, and there are no parking spaces available in Lot C, you'll be routed to Lot D, the designated permanent area for Artists and Vendors from Friday through Monday. This area is a little further away from the Festival site than Lot C but there is paved access all the way to it. To see where all aforementioned parking lots are located, visit the Festival's website, http://www.occc.edu/afo and select “Site Map” from the menu on the left.
LOAD-IN/LOAD-OUT HELP
If you made reservations for load-in/load-out help, your helper will be waiting for you in the Dining Tent when you check-in. You'll need to pre-pay for all services at that time. Please make checks payable to: OCCC Foundation and in the memo line write AFO Student Scholarships. This is a tax deductible donation.
SMALL TENTS
All tents should be of professional artist grade and WHITE. Artists must provide their own anchoring system. Artists setting up tents in the front and back sides must be careful with sprinkler system lines when securing their tents to the ground. Areas to avoid will be clearly marked. As the song goes, Oklahoma is where the wind comes sweeping down the plains so please, plan accordingly.
LARGE TENTS
Booths are arranged side-by-side and contiguously. Artists inside the large tents will likely have a neighbor on one or both sides. Because there is no space allowance for panels, Artists will need to negotiate panel placement with their neighbors so as to stay within their allotted space. In some cases, a structural tent pole may be located inside a booth space. These are typically located center of a 10x20 booth or along the perimeter of a 10x10. We will try our best to identify those booths. The poles come into the respective booths at a perpendicular angle so they're relatively easy to work around.
BOOTH/TENT NUMBERS AND LOCATIONS
Artist booth numbers and locations will be posted on the Festival's Website on Monday, August 22. This information can be accessed by visiting http://www.occc.edu/afo and then selecting the “Information for Artists” menu button from the menu on the left.
ELECTRICITY
Electricity will be provided - you may use the equivalent of 240 watts total for lighting. No radios, coffee pots, or electrical appliances are allowed. One box fan of up to 20” is allowed. Electricity sources for Front side or Back side tents can be as far away as 100 feet. Exhibitors in these tents must supply their own 100-foot electrical cord/extension.
PEGBOARDS
If you rented pegboard panels, those will be in your booth at the time of arrival. Feel free to move them to the location of your choice. Please bring a hammer to stake them down with the supplied metal stakes.
PARKING SATURDAY-MONDAY
Parking Lot D is the designated parking area for Artists and Vendors; NO EXCEPTIONS . From 9:00 a.m. to close, Saturday through Monday, the entrance off of SW 74th Street is reserved for PATRONS only. ALL artists will enter the College grounds on the May Avenue entrance Saturday through Monday. Make a left on Faculty Circle and follow around to Parking Lot D.
Only one vehicle per exhibitor will be allowed in the Artist's reserved parking area. The parking decal provided inside your check-in packet must be displayed at all times while entering, exiting, or on campus. Parking permits are non-transferable. Parking in any other area, especially in Parking Lot C, is against the rules and regulations of Arts Festival Oklahoma. Any artist parked in Lot C will run the risk of being ticketed by the OCCC Campus Police Department, towed at owner's expense, and not being considered for the Festival in 2012.
RE-STOCKING
Re-stocking may take place as follows:
- From 7:00 a.m. to 8:45 a.m. Saturday-Monday.
- Temporary parking, for re-stocking purposes only, will be available along the loop road between Lot C and the Festival site, westbound, off of S.W. 74th entrance. Vehicles must be clearly identified with Artist decals, and parked along the curb closest to Festival site. No double parking will be allowed. Parking will be limited to 30 minutes and is on a first-come-first-served basis. If no parking spaces are available, Artists will be directed to Lot D.
- Designated shuttle service will be available from lot D to the Festival site between 7:00 a.m. and 10:00 a.m. Artists with small pieces or who need to restock one or two pieces only, may prefer to use this service instead.
- From 12:00 p.m. to close, an Artist support shuttle will be available to provide transport between the Festival site and Lot D. The pick-up/drop-off site for this service will be located on the west side of the food court, at the loop road.
- From Close to 10:30 p.m. Lot C will be open to Artists. The loop road will not be open at night. From Lot D, exit LEFT and follow the loop road around campus to lot C. Lot C will be closed at 10:30. All vehicles must be removed by that time.
BREAK DOWN
On Monday, AFTER the festival has ended at 5:00 p.m., the loop road will be opened and Artists will be granted access to Lot C. No vehicles are allowed on site grounds at any time . If you have made a paid for reservation and pre-paid for help, those helpers will be available under the Dining tent at 5:30 p.m.
FESTIVAL HOURS
The Festival's posted hours are 10:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Monday. That being said, the Festival runs until 9:30 or so on Sunday because of the fireworks display which follows the Oklahoma City Philharmonic Orchestra's concert.
HOSPITALITY
One name badge will be included in your packet and is to be worn at all times for identification. At check in time only, you may request one additional name tag. Your name tag will provide access to the Visual and Performing Arts Center Building, south of Parking Lot C. This area provides restrooms, and rest areas with air conditioning. The badge will also grant you access to the Festival's Hospitality tent where you may have unlimited free iced tea, Gatorade, water or coffee. With the badge you may also request any of these items from Artist Ambassadors who come through the tents checking on you, and you may purchase drinks from the Festival's drink outlets for half price (does not include drinks sold by food vendors). Artist Ambassadors wearing RED aprons will be glad to booth-sit for you if you need a break or want to purchase food. Ambassadors are not allowed to handle money so please don't ask them to purchase items on your behalf.
AWARDS
Ribbon awards and Purchase awards will be mailed to winners immediately following the Festival. Purchase award patrons will bring a sheet for artists to list purchase price, mailing address, tax I.D. number (9 digit number or SS#), and signature. All this information must be legible and complete for payments to be processed. If a patron spends beyond the total amount listed on the sheet, the patron is to pay the artist the difference at the time of sale. Purchasers will provide artists with a purchase award certificate or purchase award ribbon when the work is picked up. Please contact the tent chair in each area for more information once on site.
TAXES
One (1) Oklahoma Tax Commission form will be enclosed in each artist's check-in packet. Oklahoma Sales Tax is 8.376 percent (.08376) which includes .001 percent Oklahoma Tourism Tax. It is each artist's responsibility to return the form along with any sales taxes due to the Oklahoma Tax Commission address at the top of the form.
TENT/BOOTH PROTOCOL
If not already up, Artists inside large tents should roll up the tent walls closest to their exhibiting area in the morning and should roll them down in the evening at closing time. Artists providing their own tents (WHITE) should do the same for their tents. Artists must keep their area as neat as possible, removing any storage boxes, empty chairs, trash, etc. As per the Fire Marshall's Office, it is mandatory that general public aisles remain open for traffic flow, therefore no artist chairs, stands, structures, etc., will be permitted outside the assigned 10x10 or 10x20 area.
WEATHER
Pop quiz! In addition to beautiful 80-degree weather, during Labor Day weekend, you may experience the following in Oklahoma City:
- Steady/gusting winds
- Heavy down pours
- Scorching Hot weather
- All of the above
If you answered D, you are correct! A famous quote by Will Rogers states that “if you don't like the weather in Oklahoma, just wait a minute.” If you're from Oklahoma, you know how true that is. If you're visiting our state for the first time, please consider Mr. Rogers' quote a friendly reminder to come prepared for any and all curves Mother Nature decides to throw at us. This is an outdoor festival, after-all! If you're providing your own tent, sides, heavy corner weights and/or stakes are not only a must, they're required.
DONATIONS
Children's Creative Center – For many of our youngest patrons, purchasing an original piece of work is a BIG deal. This has been a tradition of Arts Festival Oklahoma since the Children’s Creative Center was implemented. Inventory for these original art sales is donated by the artists participating in the festival and are typically purchased with coin purse money for less than $3. We consider these little ones the Art buyers of tomorrow, and ask that you make a donation of one or two pieces you don’t mind parting with for this purpose. Please deliver Children's Creative Center donated artwork to that area on Saturday morning by 10:00 a.m.
Volunteer Appreciation - Arts Festival Oklahoma's continued success is attributed to the many individuals from the college and the surrounding community that make up its volunteer force. All of them donate their time selflessly for the good of the Festival and its artists because they believe in what the event does for our community. In order to reward them, the Festival has an appreciation party on the Friday evening before the Festival begins. The highlight of the event is a raffle featuring original art. These prizes consist of works donated by artists who have participated in the Festival in previous years, in appreciation for our volunteers' work. Please consider making a contribution when tent chairs request donations for this purpose on Saturday and Sunday.
