Allen's Crafts & Drafts 2026

The 2026 Allen's Crafts and Drafts Festival, organized by the Allen Arts Alliance is returning to Watter's Creek Village in Allen, Texas!  Allen is a thriving community north of Dallas with a median household income of more than $110,000. The festival features an outstanding group of juried artists, local and regional, showcasing original art in different media categories. Live entertainment, children's art activities, and much more is offered throughout the weekend.

Watters Creek is a beautiful 52 acres resort-style mixed use development with office and mid-rise apartment spaces incorporated into a master planned community of walkable spaces, lush landscaping, public art, upscale shopping and top notch dining. Its prime shopping and dinning destinations draw thousands of visitors from Allen and other cities every weekend.

Allen Arts Alliance is a non-profit organization, dedicated to bringing arts and culture to our community. Proceeds from the festival are distributed back to our community program, student scholorships and grants to community non-profit cultural arts organizations within the Allen community.

Communication
Email is used for all communication, including invitations, contracts, booth assignments and show details. Email us with any of your questions or concerns.
Email: office@allenartsalliance.org
Mailing address:  P.O. Box 1209, Allen, TX 75013

2026 Crafts & Drafts festival dates and hours
Friday, September 25, 2026:    2:00 pm - 7:00 pm
Saturday, September 26, 2026:  10:00 am - 7:00 pm
Sunday, September 27, 2026:   10:00 am - 6:00 pm

Summary of Important Dates
Jury Results Notification by Email No Later Then: August 15, 2026
Artist Acceptance and Booth Fee deadline: August 15, 2026
Artist booth location and other information sent: September 15, 2026

Cancellation Deadline: Cancellation must be done in writing (email) by September 01, 2026 to receive a 50% back plus $25 administrative fee. After September 01, 2026 fees are non-refundable and there is no rain date.

Applications
Allen Arts Festival uses Zapplication to administer its entire application and jury process. The jury panel views the submitted images and reads the artist statement. The artist statement should describe material and technique rather than meaning behind the work or inspiration. Images are scored from 1(low) to 7(high) with no 4. All scores are combined and averaged. A Wait List will be established by medium category based on jury scores.  Images from Accepted and Wait Listed artists will be retained for promotion.

• All work must be original, handcrafted, created and exhibited by the approved artist themselves
• All entries will be reviewed, juried and screened prior to your acceptance
• All applications require 3 photos of your work plus 1 photo of your outdoor display

Media

• Clay
• Digital Art
• Drawing (using pen, pencil, charcoal, pastel or fluid medium of inks and washes applied by pen or brush)
• Fiber (includes leather)
• Glass
• Jewelry
• Mixed Media
• Paintig (oil/acrylic)
• Painting (watercolor)
• Metal
• Photography
• Printmaking
• Sculpture
• Wood

Artists/Exhibitors

• Displays must be professional and aesthetically pleasing
• Displays must only be in category that artist has been juried into.
• Exhibitors are responsible for bringing their own tents
• Exhibitors will leave their exhibit space clean after packing up at break down the last day of the festival. If tent space is not clean after an event this could result in expulsion from future shows.
• Artists must be present during the entire run of the festival.

The following policies and rules have been established by the Allen Arts Alliance, in cooperation with Watters Creek, to ensure the quality and integrity of the event.
Check-In policy:

• Artists must check-in at Check-In Booth before unloading.
• Photo ID is required at check-in.
• A Hold Harmless form will be sent via email. The signed form must be handed in during check-in.
• A Welcome Packet will be provided to all artists at check in, including name tags and booth space tags.

Artwork Exhibit policy:

• The artist/exhibitor must be present during the entire festival. No agents or representatives may attend the event in place of the artist.
• Volunteers are available to booth-sit if artists need to leave their space temporarily.
• Original art must occupy more than 50% of the applicant’s booth space.
• Art displayed must only be in category that artist has been juried into.
• The Allen Arts Alliance reserves the right to refuse any entries that are deemed inappropriate for a family venue.
• No T-shirt sales allowed.
• All hanging works must be suitably framed. Prints must be appropriately matted and displayed in a suitable portfolio or stand.
• All exhibits must be contained within the parameters of the tent space. An artist/exhibitor is not allowed to take up any space outside of their designated tent area.
• Artists must define a “limited edition” through their Artist Statement and must disclose their process to the buyer.
• Reproductions of 2-D work must be clearly labeled “Reproduction".
• Ceramic works must be handmade by the artist. If multiple pieces of the same design are displayed, each must be signed.
• Exhibited art pieces must be consistent in style/theme with the images submitted with the ZAPP application.
• Artist must maintain a neat booth at all times. Boxes and other unused display materials must be stored under covered tables and not to be visible to the public eye.
• Exhibiting artists are required to display their booth number sign (distributed at check-in) in a prominent place within their booths.

Parking:

• All artists must park in the designated parking areas. No RVs or unhitched trailers of any kind are allowed along the festival streets after set-up. A Guest Artist vehicle card will be provided upon check-in and must be placed inside the artist's vehicle (windshield).
• All artists are allowed one to two hours to unload before moving the vehicle.
• Vehicles and trailers must be moved to the designated parking areas before set up. This will ensure efficiency and prevent too much traffic within the festival grounds.
• Set up time is allowed until the festival opens at 2 pm on Friday.

Miscellaneous:

• Artists retain all revenue from the sale of their work. Artists are responsible for collecting and paying current Texas sales tax on all sales made during the show. A Texas sales tax number is required for all artists.For information call the Texas Comptroller's Office at 800-252-5555, or go to www.window.state.tx.us.
• Professional behavior from artists/exhibitors is expected at all times during the event especially during set-up and tear-down. Please be respectful of everyone and their booth space.

The jury panel and/or Allen Arts Alliance reserves the right to refuse exhibition of work that is not consistent with the submitted images and rules stated above. Failure to comply will result in immediate removal from the festival with no refund.

PLEASE NOTE THAT WATTERS CREEK IS A NON-SMOKING SHOPPING CENTER

Booth Fees
        $325        10'x10'       Standard, single booth
        $600        20'x10'       Double booth setting

       
Electricity        $50         (limited number available)

Artists who are selected by the jury panel and who accept the invitation to exhibit, must pay for the Booth Fees by 09/01/2026. Failure to respond by the deadline will result in change of status to waitlisted, and immediate invitation of an alternate from the Wait List.

Booth Requests
We will do our best to honor artists' requests, but final assignments are made at the discretion of the Festival Director.

Booth Space

• Exhibitors must provide their own tent, this is a mandatory requirement.
• All artist tent structures must be white and of professional quality.
• Staking of tents is not allowed.
• Single tent size must not exceed 10'x10', have at least three walls, and be securely anchored with a minimum of 50 lbs. of weight per tent leg with ability to center weight if necessary. We highly recommend the use of weights as Texas weather is unpredictable and it can be very windy in the Spring.

Setup and Breakdown

• Check-in is staggered, and takes place between 7:00 a.m. and 10:00 a.m. on Friday, September 25, 2026
• Artists must check-in at the Artist Check-In booth before unloading.
• Exhibitors will have one to two hours to unload.
• Vehicles must be moved to designated parking area before set up can begin.
• Booths must be set up and ready to open by 2:00 p.m. on Friday, September 25, 2026
• Breakdown is NOT ALLOWED until after the event ends at 6:00 p.m. on Sunday, September 27, 2026
• Tent space must be completely cleared out after the event by 8 p.m. on Sunday, September 28, 2025

Security:    Watters Creek security is on site around the clock.

Electricity:

• There is a limited number of booths with electricity ($50 extra). These are assigned on a first come, first served basis.
• Generators are not allowed.

Cancellation Deadline: Cancellation must be done in writing (email) by September 01, 2026 to receive a 50% back minus $25 administrative fee. After September 1, 2026 fees are non-refundable and there is no rain date.