What gigs are you doing?

[reginanewsum]

The weather is breaking and that means our busy time is just beginning!  This will be a thread to add what gigs you are doing!  By doing this maybe if can give each painter an idea on where and what kind of gigs all of us are doing! It can also give the painter ideas on where and what type of business to inquire at. Add any special little notes that may help the painter, like I am a big talker trying to get into an event, I  tell them, I am not a vendor, I am an artist, so normally they will go with me as being an entertainer, and that includes no vendor fee!  Or maybe just a 10% of what I make fee! But you have to talk turkey! It does work, a great gift of gab and some really great pictures, and you have to sell yourself! Hope this helps all of us.

May 7, 2010 - 3pm to 9pm I will be at a 23rd annual Car show and Family event -  two day event. I am doing a pay as you go charge - last years attendance was 10,000 - I am paying no vendor fee - they have me down as an entertainer! I nigociated the arrangement. I did this event last year also
May 8, 2010 - 8am to 5pm 23rd annual car show and family event
May 8, 2010 - 6:30pm to 10pm - Kalamazoo Speedway Race Track - pay as you go charge - no charge for vendor fee - I have an open inviation with two tracks each Friday nad Saturday night, as I want to come. I did both these tracks last year, I rotate each Saturday between the two tracks, if I have no Saturday gig to do, that way they don't get tired of me!
May 10, 2010 After school fun fair  3pm to 5pm

[MsMollie]

that's wonderful...i get so mad when they consider me a vendor...after all, we are providing a service..not selling stuff...so why shoule we pay for an event...we have to change the way we are perceived by the public as well as our own mind set....i am going to start thinking in that direction. thanks for the tip

[twinkletattoos]

That is a great tip about not being a vendor. Thanks for sharing.

June 5th  --Glitter Tattoo Private Party
June 12th --Glitter Tattoo Birthday Party (my anniversary  )
June 13th --Glitter Tattoo Birthday Party @ Park

[vegaburm]

I have always been considered a vendor at festivals and such. No big deal, the vendor fees aren't bad around here.

MAY 8TH- church Mayfest 2-4 PM
May 15th- Birthday Party 4-5:30 PM
May 22nd- Birthday Party 3-4:30 PM
May 31st- Birthday Party 12-2 PM

No bookings yet for June, but I didn't have any for May when it started and ended up working every weekend.

[reginanewsum]

I always try to nigoiate with the organizers, on space fees!  I explain that I have no goods on the table to sell as the other vendors do!  So there fore I must sell myself!  I also explain that people do love to watch face painting even if they do not get a face painting done, there fore I am an intertainer!  Some of the space rents are in the market of $1800.00 as for our tulip festival for three days!  Or $300 for the two day weekend for the Ren faires.  Or how about $1500 at the local one week long community fair!  These prices are way to high to be able to even break even, let alone be in the red!  There fore I normally get a spot for nothing, no cost at all, or 10% of the total sales that I do.  You never know until you talk to the organizer!

[Sherry]

How does the racetrack face paintings go?  I almost did one of these last year and wondered if the face painting would be popular at this type of event.

The first, second & third Mondays each month...  McDonalds family night

May 14th & 18th Chick Fil A family night
May 15th Fundraiser 1 - 4 p.m.   
May 15th    6 - 7 p.m. face painting for another local face painting company, so I didn't get this gig through my own marketing.

May 22nd Woofstock 1 - 4.  PPF, but no vendor fee... free to set up and need to bring my own canopy, tables, etc.  They contacted me.

May 29th A career college orientation from 11 - 1 p.m.  Face painting and balloons for the children of the new students to keep them entertained while the  parents are busy with orientation.

[Sherry]

Great thread, btw.  I love this idea!

[reginanewsum]

Thank you Sherry for the compliment!  I just thought it would give all of us ideas where everyone is painting at!  You know in case there's a business that we have over looked!  The race track, I use just for fill ins. When I have nothing to do or do not have a gig for Saturday night.  Our son in law races late model at one track, my hubby always goes to watch him. I get to nervous to watch, I watch Marc with my eyes closed! HAHAHAHA I was painting at the track he races at but, they got new owners last year and they wanted 50% of what I made! NO WAY! So I go to an other track about 20 miles from my home. The owners are great, they never will take any money I offer them, they say that I keep the kids busy and not running the concourse!  I normally make about between $140 and $200 on an average night. 6 pm to 10 pm, give or take a half hour or so. I do a pay as I paint charge.  Just to keep it simple I offer all designs at $5.00 each.  The most popular thing at the race track is just putting the car number on the cheek and maybe the driver's name.  So if the car is mostly green, I might just do a little sponging in green and them put the number on top of it with some star bursts, glitter for the girls!  And the most popular for the girls is just some sye art, pretty simple!  I can go every week If I want without calling, just go and set up!  I have an excellent spot right at the bottom of the stairs across from the concession stands!  So because the owners take no money, at the end of the year I always get them a nice card with four $25 gift cert. for applesbee's I think they would eat there every day!

[reginanewsum]

s you can see I always have a crowd of kids hanging out with me!  The parents love it I think! They always know where their kids are! HAHAHAHAHA

[Sherry]

I couldn't look at the pic up close for some reason.  Bummer.   

This sounds like the setup I was offered at the track in Georgia.  I only had to pay the admittance fee, but was free to setup and keep whatever I made.  I ended up moving to Florida, so I never got the chance to try it out.

[vegaburm]

Wow! holy vendor fees Batman! The biggest one I have paid around here is $175 for the 10 day county fair. lol. There is a big festival about an hour away and their fee is $150 for a 3 day festival, but with 250,000 in attendence it is easy to make that back. Most of our festivals and such are $25-50 for the one day events. This is probably because I live on a pretty poor, rural area though. The other side of that coin is that I have to keep my fees low to fit in with the area. I see what other people are charging on here and know that would never work here!

[Sherry]

I did one when I was back in Georgia where they had no set up fee, but the second year I did it (last year), three face painters showed up.  We were all good quality and my profits tanked.  I won't be doing that one this year!  Even free, it wouldn't be worth it.  Festival work is too much hard work for that.

The fees are even higher in Savannah.  Their First Saturdays, which they had every weekend when I was up in Georgia were $95.  I also did their Seafood Festival.  It was a 3 day festival for $150.  I've done county fairs (for an outdoor booth) from $150 - $250.  These are smaller county fairs.  I think the big city fair around here charges around $700 I believe, but I haven't tried that one.  I think I would love to have a shot at it, if I could find local face painters to go in on it with me.

[reginanewsum]

I did craft shows for 30 years, 1975 until 2005.  I started out at space rent on the average of $10 per space! HAHAHA And ended up in 2007 with space rent any wheres from $50 to $400 space rent!  I did really well> I made more in the years time than my factory pay was for the year, and I was paid well at the factory. But I think the problem with the craft shows were, they seen people were making money and the organizations got greedy.  Now when I try to get in doing face painting, thats why I explain that I have no goods to put on a table to sell but myself!  I am doing two Ren Faires this year one in two weeks that will be two weekends, and then one in July that will be for 6 weekends 10 our days for both of them. I am hoping to do very well at both, but we will see.  I have been preping for both faires, dragons, fairies, flowers and any thin Ren Faires. I am going to go up on my prices for this event. If the people are willing to pay $15 to $20 to get in, and I have research the prices of the other vendor merchandise way up there in price.  But I will not pay that big giant price for a face painting spot and gop into the red.  Times have changed and the organizations have all gone up.

[reginanewsum]

May 15, 2010 - Children's walk - Kalamazoo Jr High School - 9am to 12:30pm
May 15, 2010 - Private Birthday Party - 2pm to 4pm
May 15, 2010 - Race track Painting - 6pm to 10pm
May 22, May 23  - Mayfaire Ren Faire - 10am to 6pm
May 29, May 30 and June 1 - Mayfaire Ren Faire - 10am to 6pm

[Sherry]

Hey Gina,

How much did it cost to get into the Ren Faire?  I've wanted to do one, but heard the fee was high.  They do sound fun.