Lewisburg Arts Festival Vendor FAQ

Who runs the Lewisburg Arts Festival?

The Lewisburg Arts Festival is hosted by the Lewisburg Arts Council and is organized by a small but incredibly dedicated team of volunteers. First held in a small bank parking lot over 50 years ago, this cherished annual event has grown over the years to cover most of Market Street. Last year, despite the rain, the festival drew over 10,000 visitors to downtown Lewisburg.

What is the date of the Festival?

The Lewisburg Arts Festival is held annually on the fourth Saturday of April. In 2025, it will fall on Saturday, April 26.

What are the Festival hours?

The 2025 Lewisburg Arts Festival will be held from 9am to 4pm. Please note, this is an hour earlier start and end time compared to previous years.

Which application should I submit?

We have three applications:

Artists and Artisanal Food: Includes handmade arts, fine crafts, and artisanal food. Artisanal food products being sold must be pre-packaged off-site. No open-air food is permitted, except for samples of your product. Application deadline is January 15, 2025.
Food and Beverage: Food is being prepared or beverages are poured on site for immediate consumption. This category also includes all alcohol vendors, including those selling prepackaged beverages. Application deadline is January 31, 2025.
Community Commons: For nonprofits wishing to showcase their work, we offer a limited number of spaces on a side street. There is no cost to participate, but spaces are limited. Participating organizations are encouraged to offer art-related activities. Application deadline is March 15, 2025. (This application will open by December 1)

Should I submit an application if I am an entertainer?

We strive to showcase as many different arts as possible during this one-day event. Entertainers are always welcome to submit their information to our database using our Musician Application.

Can I apply with my spouse/partner/child/neighbor/friend?

All items must be original work by the entrant or joint exhibitors working on the same body of work - not a consortium of artists.

Booth-sharing by artisanal food vendors will be considered on a case-by-case basis. The application must represent all items that will be available for sale in the booth.

Shoot, I missed the application deadline! Can I apply late?

We cannot accept late applications.

Committees begin working on the Festival layout and publicity immediately after applications close. Sticking to deadlines enables us to do our best to promote our accepted vendors.

If you are not on our email list, submit our form to be notified when the application opens for our next Festival!

When will I be notified about the status of my application?

Vendors will be notified of their status by February 20.

Nonprofit organizations applying for a space in Community Commons will be notified of their status by April 1.

If accepted, when is my booth payment due?

March 1, 2025

What if I am unable to attend after submitting my booth payment?

March 31 is the deadline to request a refund if you need to cancel. No refund will be issued if you cancel after March 31.

Vendors who fail to show without written communication prior to the Festival may not be invited to return.

Where does my money for the application fee and the booth fee go?

Any money left after paying the thousands of dollars needed to host the Festival itself is used by the Lewisburg Arts Council, a 501(c)(3) organization, to offer free-to-the-public arts events, including art exhibitions, workshops, concerts, and other activities to encourage creative expression.

I’m an Artist. Which artist category should I apply in?

Brief description of Artist categories:

Ceramics/Pottery: works made using clay
Drawing/Illustration/Pen & Ink: works created through drawing or illustration
Digital Art (AI art is NOT allowed): works created digitally (example: procreate designs, composite images, highly edited or composite photography)Etching/Printmaking: works made using etching or printmaking techniques
Fiber/Textiles/Clothing: works made of fiber or textiles (example: clothing, wool felting, weaving)
Glass: works made in glass (example: blown glass, stained glass, or fused glass)
Home, Garden, Bath & Body
Jewelry: all jewelry types including fine, semi-precious, and fine craft.
Leather: works made in leather
Metal: metal sculpture or art forms (not including jewelry)
Mixed Media: uses a variety of mediums to create individual works of art
Painting: includes oil, acrylic, watercolor and other paint mediums
Photography: photographic work captured by the artist
Wood: works made in wood (example: furniture, sculpture, carvings)
Other: if you don’t think your work fits into the above categories, please submit under Other and describe your category.

What if I don’t have a booth photo?

We recommend that you mock up a booth. This can be done in your home or your backyard under a canopy. A booth photo is important to show the committee that your products will be professionally displayed. If you do not have the display needed to do a booth mock up, you can submit a high quality rendering/illustration of what your booth will look like. A booth photo or rendering is required on the application.

What is the jurying process for Artists and Artisanal Food vendors?

To ensure artistry of the highest quality, all entries are juried by a panel of professionals, who rate each applicant in 5 categories: Quality of Craft, Artistic Merit, Artistic Theme, Innovation, and Presentation.

The Festival Committee uses the rankings to determine who is accepted each year. For this reason, vendors who have been accepted in the past cannot count on being accepted every year. Not being accepted this year does not preclude acceptance in future years.

We strive to include a wide array of media in our Festival. The competition for spaces in some categories – such as Jewelry and Ceramics/Pottery – is particularly fierce, due to the number of applicants and the quality of their work.

What is the selection process for Food and Beverage vendors?

To determine who is accepted, we use the information about your menu that you provide in your application. We also use this information to avoid placing vendors serving similar offerings in close proximity. Please ensure your menu information is complete and up-to-date. We may request that an item be omitted from your menu in order to avoid duplication.

If multiple vendors who offer similar items apply, we tend to give preference to returning vendors.

What size are the booth spaces?

Single booth spaces are 10’ x 10’. Double booths are 10’ deep x 20’ wide. Triple booths are 10’ deep x 30’ wide. All booths have approximately 3’ between vendors.

Market Street spaces are either a single or double booth.

Food vendors must pay for the number of spaces needed to accommodate their entire set-up, including awning, cooking areas, trailer hitch, etc. (ex: If your food truck is 25' long, you will need to pay for a triple booth. If your set-up is normally 15’ deep, you will need to reconfigure to fit in the allotted 10’-deep space.)

What are your requirements for all accepted vendors?

Each vendor is responsible for the collection and payment of Pennsylvania 6% sales tax on applicable goods.
Each vendor is responsible for assembling, managing, cleaning and removing their booth.
Vendors MUST be present for the entire show. For Artists and Artisanal Food vendors, the artist whose work has been accepted must be present for the entire show.
Any vendor using the Lewisburg lamp post must request permission from the Lewisburg Borough.
It is suggested all booths consist of 2 sides and a backdrop as well as some type of overhead protection as the Festival is held RAIN OR SHINE.
Generators are not permitted on Market Street.
Booths may not be staked down but instead must be secured with sandbags or similar weights. Any variations must be approved by the committee.
For Artists, AI (artificial intelligence) generated artwork is not permitted. All work must be the artist's original design. Artwork must not infringe on copyrights.
We are required to keep a travel lane open for emergency vehicles. Vendors should not block the flow of traffic in the travel lane, including during set-up and/or tear-down.

Can I use a generator?

Generators are not permitted on Market Street.

Will I have access to electricity and WiFi?

No electricity or WiFi is provided. Cellular service is strong in our area.

I have specific needs, such as accessible parking. Can you accommodate me so that I can participate in the Festival?

We do our best to accommodate special needs/requests. Please use the “Special Needs/Requests” section to explain your need/request. We cannot guarantee we will be able to meet every special request.

For vendors needing accessible parking, a designated lot is available at the corner of 5th and Market. Parking in this lot is available by special permit only to those who requested accessible parking. Those requesting accessible parking are assigned a booth space near the accessible parking lot.

Who should I make my check out to?

Please make your check payable to the “Lewisburg Arts Council” and mail the check to:

Lewisburg Arts Council ℅ Lewisburg Arts Festival
PO Box 418
Lewisburg, PA 17837

If the name on the check does not match the name or business name you used to register, please write on the memo line the name under which you registered.

DO NOT send booth payments unless you have been notified of acceptance.

How do I know my application went through?

After submitting the form you will see a thank-you message on the webpage and you will receive an automated email after submitting your application. Please allow up to 15 minutes for the server to process your information. If you do not receive the automated email, please check your spam/junk mail box. If you have not received the confirmation email within one hour of submitting, reach out to either [email protected] (for Artists and Artisanal Food applicants) or [email protected] (for Food and Beverage applicants).

The application isn’t working! What should I do?

We advise everyone to submit their application in advance of the deadline.

Be sure that you have completed all form fields. If no error messages are appearing, try clearing your browser’s cache or try using a different browser to complete the form (example: Chrome, Safari, Edge). If you continue to have issues with our online form please reach out to our website team at [email protected] with a screenshot of the full browser screen and any error messages you may have received to troubleshoot further. Alternatively, we can provide you with a pdf version of the application that you can use to submit via email.

What is the plan in the event of inclement weather?

The Lewisburg Arts Festival is held rain or shine. It will not be canceled because of inclement weather. This is an outdoor event; be prepared for any type of weather. Check the forecast for Lewisburg, PA (17837) before you leave home. In April, the temperature during set-up might be 30 or 40 degrees colder than at the end of the day.

Fans of our Festival are not deterred by rain. In recent years, a number of vendors have reported that their sales are better when the weather is inclement because it increases their interaction with customers.