Westmoreland Arts & Heritage Festival ranks high for vendor profit

The Westmoreland Arts & Heritage Festival has been ranked as the nation’s 15th most profitable classic and contemporary craft show for 2018 by “Sunshine Artist” magazine, a leading publication for art and craft show exhibitors, promoters and patrons.

The magazine’s 27th annual “200 Best” list, released today, says it was the most profitable festival in Pennsylvania for vendors in 2018, based on subscribers’ reported sales for that year.

Launched in 1993, the list includes 100 shows in each of two categories: Fine Art and Design, for events that focus on unique fine-art pieces; and Classic and Contemporary Craft, for events that focus on traditional or modern craft and production work.

“We’re very honored to have this ranking,” says festival Executive Director Diane Shrader. “No. 15, we’re very proud of that.”

She says she is “very thankful” for the dedicated volunteers, sponsors, staff and board of directors whose efforts are essential to the success of the annual festival, but festival-goers and their purchases are key for vendor satisfaction.

“The ranking is based mostly on sales, so it especially helps us with securing our vendors,” Shrader says.

Though festival organizers offer vendors an array of perks — from help with finding accommodations to free coffee every morning — Shrader says, “When it comes down to it, vendors want to do shows where they do well.”

Other Pennsylvania festivals ranked in the classic and contemporary category include the Heart of Lancaster Arts and Craft Show in Manheim (30), the Dollar Bank Three Rivers Arts Festival in Pittsburgh (37), the Covered Bridge & Arts Festival in Elysburg (71) and the Pennsylvania Christmas & Gift Show in Harrisburg (100).

Five Pennsylvania shows also made the fine art and design list.

“The ballot asked artists to list the 10 most profitable art and/or craft shows they exhibited at during the previous year, indicate their level of gross sales at each event, and note whether they consider themselves to be fine artists or craftspeople for each event. The results were tabulated using a weighted scale based on four sales levels to ensure that all events can compete against each other fairly,” according to the magazine’s press release.

“Sunshine Artist’s 200 Best focuses solely on revenue, because that’s the most objective indicator of a show’s future success. Subjective attributes such as artist treatment, amenities, attendance levels, management, or even overall quality can certainly impact sales, but they’re harder to gauge and therefore have no direct bearing on these rankings.”