Planes, trailers and borders: Arts Fest requires creative planning for traveling artists

One week before this year’s Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts, craftsman Victor Edwards packed 25 pieces of wooden furniture into a trailer, attached it to his van and began the 1,000-mile drive from Monticello, Florida.

The trip, around 15 hours on the road split between two days, took Edwards from his home in north Florida to his sister-in-law’s house near Black Moshannon State Park. Wednesday afternoon, he moved inventory from the trailer to the van and drove into downtown State College, where he checked in and started setting up his booth on Pollock Road.

It’s a routine he’s mostly followed every July for more than 40 years, since he first showed at Arts Fest in 1978 — but his penchant for the nomadic lifestyle was born even earlier.

A self-proclaimed “surfer kid,” Edwards grew up following the waves. He attended his first art show during his senior year at Florida State University, initially staying within the Southeast, then branching out to shows as far as Wisconsin. In the early ’90s, he met his wife at a festival in Cleveland.

“If there was a part of the country I wanted to go to, I would see if there were any shows in that area I could do on the way there or the way back,” Edwards said. “I like that type of lifestyle — the freedom of travel.”

Edwards is one of more than 300 artists who flock to State College from across the United States every year, traveling hundreds of miles and countless hours to sell their work at one of Pennsylvania’s largest art festivals. For some, Arts Fest is a stop on the way to other summer shows in the Northeast, while for others it might be the only city they hit all year.

Either way, out-of-state artists tend to share a similar goal: make, bare minimum, more money than it takes to travel there in the first place.

Making back the investment

For Edwards, taking part in Arts Fest costs about $2,000 — a number that includes travel, hotels, the parking spot he rents from a nearby fraternity house and the cost of the vendor booth itself. To consider this investment worth it, he said, he hopes to sell at least $10,000 worth of outdoor furniture .

This isn’t typically a problem, though, he said — along with Ann Arbor Art Fair, which will take place next week, Arts Fest is Edward’s most successful show of the year. Most of his customers are Penn State alumni who fly in for the show, so he’ll ship bulkier items like barstools and swing chairs back to their house.

Ruel Martin, also a woodworker but from Acworth, Georgia , has a similar outlook on how much profit makes a show worthwhile. Although he isn’t as scientific about it as other artists might be, he said, the goal is usually to quadruple his initial costs.

“This is not a side gig for me,” he said. “This is my full-time living. My son-in-law collaborates with me, so I’m supporting my family and his immediate family through the work.”

His craft begins with a log, natural wood pieces he shapes into hollowed-out sculptures that are then sanded and coated in resin until they shine. Completely waterproof, the products can either be decorative or functional, used as fruit bowls or vases. The pieces he’s selling at Arts Fest range from $200 up to $6,000.

This is Martin’s first year showing in State College, though he’s almost always successful at shows held in the Northeast, he said.

Presentation is important, he said, so his Arts Fest booth is set up to resemble the interior of an art gallery. Before every show, he carefully packs his work and display into a 7 foot by 12 foot trailer, then hits the road.

Getting creative with travel plans

For artists based on the West Coast, coordinating travel plans may be more difficult.

If Amos Amit, a fiber artist from Los Angeles who’s been doing Arts Fest since 1999, were to make the drive, it would take more than 37 hours. So, instead of committing to the cross-country road trip, he flew into Cleveland Tuesday, then made the far more manageable 4-hour drive into State College.

Because of this distance, Amit is more particular about scheduling shows — especially since only two or three of his yearly lineup take place in California. He prefers shows outside the West Coast, he said.

“Every so often, I do another one (in California) to remind me why I’m running all over the country,” he said. “But after so many years, I still enjoy doing all the shows … It keeps me young.”

To make this constant back-and-forth schedule possible, Amit relies on “a van that never goes home,” he said. Last month, he traveled out to a show in Buffalo, New York, then left the van at the Cleveland airport and flew back to LA to prepare for a show in Salt Lake City. While home, he shipped 11 boxes to Cleveland using United Cargo — all filled with batiks, fabric designed through a traditional Indonesian technique that uses dye and hot wax.

It costs about $3,000 to take part at Arts Fest, Amit said, but he’s never been disappointed by the festival’s turnout. It’s one of the few shows where he books a double booth.

International artists & traditions

But distance isn’t the only hurdle out-of-state artists have to jump if they want to show at Arts Fest. Richard Bond’s drive from Ottawa, Canada, is only seven hours — it’s crossing the border that can be time-consuming and expensive.

Bond has been doing art festivals for 40 years, selling handcrafted artwork made from shaping and sandblasting colorful pieces of glass into detailed designs . While he started out doing shows in primarily Ontario, now he usually only does one Canadian show each year.

“I find it’s better to just stay focused in the American market,” Bond said. “Logistically, it’s easier to commit to one side of the border.”

To do art shows in the U.S., Bond needed to apply for a work visa, a process that cost about $5,000 and required proof that his work was unique and in-demand. He has to renew the visa every five years. Even more paperwork is needed each time he crosses the border, which he does alongside the commercial trucks.

To avoid extra hassle, Bond doesn’t bring any inventory back into Canada — so, any pieces that don’t sell are left in a cargo trailer by the border until the next time he travels for a show. It’s an unpredictable lifestyle, he said, but one he’s committed to, doing up to 16 shows every year.

Not all artists who travel to State College share this same festival circuit, though. For Christopher Locke, a multimedia artist and high school art teacher in Austin, Texas, Arts Fest is the only show he does all year.

When he first started doing the show around 12 years ago, it was a way to reconnect with his dad and in-laws, who lived in Pennsylvania, and his mom, who lived in Virginia. Although it isn’t the same homecoming it used to be, he said, Locke still packs his minivan every year and makes the 26-hour drive to State College. He almost always sells out.

Locke’s booth features old brass horns revamped as amps for iPhones, a blending of old and new technology that seeks to address wastefulness and the idea of cutting edge technology becoming obsolete.

“My first year here, I was really nervous,” he said. “I didn’t know what to expect. I brought 13 or 14 pieces with me because it was everything I had, and all day Thursday I don’t think I sold a single thing. Then, Friday morning, I started selling, and it didn’t stop.”

Arts Fest’s first year back post-pandemic, Locke brought 35 speakers and sold out by Saturday. This year, he brought 26 and hopes to, once again, drive home with an empty van.

For information about where to find these and other artists, visit arts-festival.com/artists . Arts Fest’s Sidewalk Sale & Exhibition started Thursday and will be open 10 a.m.-7 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Sunday.

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