Toledo Festival of the Arts at Toledo Botanical Garden - June 27-28, 2026

The Toledo Artists Club is proud to present The Toledo Festival of the Arts, set amid the scenic beauty of the Toledo Botanical Garden. This juried festival will feature the work of more than 150 artists and is expected to welcome over 10,000 art enthusiasts. Originally founded by the Toledo Artists Club, the festival now returns as a free public event celebrating outstanding artwork from Northwest Ohio and beyond.

For more than 80 years, the Toledo Artists Club has played a vital role in promoting outdoor art exhibitions. In 1941, TAC launched one of its earliest shows, the Outdoor Art Jubilee, which continued through the 1990s. The Club later established the Rose Garden Arts Festival in 1966 in downtown Toledo in partnership with the Toledo Department of Forestry. That festival ran from 1966 to 1970 before relocating to Crosby Park in the 1970s, where it became known as The Toledo Festival of the Arts. As Crosby Park evolved into the Toledo Botanical Garden in the 1980s, the event’s name also evolved into the Crosby Festival of the Arts.

This year, the Toledo Artists Club is returning the festival to its roots by refocusing on local and regional artists and restoring the  name, The Toledo Festival of the Arts. In addition, TAC will host a special historical retrospective featuring the work of notable Toledo artists in its gallery at the Toledo Botanical Garden during the festival.

Categories

Ceramics, Digital Media, Fiber/Textiles, Glass, Jewelry, Metal, Mixed Media/Other, Painting/Drawing, Photography, Wood – See Rules and Regulations for category descriptions.

 

Application Fee: $35

 

Application Process

All artists must apply to the Toledo Festival of the Arts 2026 through Zapplication. Five images must be submitted; four (4) different pieces representative of your body of work and one (1) booth image. The Toledo Festival of the Arts jury is conducted by a panel of 3-5 experienced artists and industry professionals. Invitation to exhibit is based solely upon the quality of the work as illustrated in the submitted digital images.

 

Jurors & Jury Procedure

• Jurors will review and score applications independently. 
• Artists are scored by a different jury each year.
• Approximately 150 artists will be accepted and they will represent the top/highest scores in their respective mediums. 
• Toledo Artists Club may limit the number of artists accepted in some categories to present a balanced show.
• Of highest importance is the creative vision of the applicant and the quality of the work. Artist certifies that all jury images submitted represent his/her original work. No buy/sell is permitted.
• Artist scores will not be released.
• Vacancies will be filled from the festival waitlist by the Toledo Artists Club Board based upon jury scores and medium balance.
• Jurors will visit all booths in person during the festival and award Best of Show, 1st-3rd place in both 2D and 3D categories and Honorable Mentions. More than $1,500 will be given in cash awards.

 

Additional Information

• Toledo Festival of the Arts is returning to the Toledo Botanical Garden for 2026! Use the address 5403 Elmer Drive, Toledo, Ohio 43615 for directions. 
• Each booth will be assigned a time for arrival on Friday to manage load-in traffic. Weather dependent, we intend to allow artists to park at their booth for unloading. Details will be provided in May along with booth assignments. 
• Show management assigns all booths to ensure a cohesive flow and balance of mediums. Unless you have a physical disability, specific location requests cannot be honored. A limited number of corner booths are available for purchase at check out upon receiving show invitation. 
• We have on-site artist parking close by to the park! After you unload at your booth (weather permitting), you must move your vehicle to the designated parking lot to allow other artists access to their booths.
• You are responsible for your own setup.  
• Booth sitters are provided by TAC volunteers.
• Overnight security will be provided Friday and Saturday night. Toledo Artists Club does not assume any responsibility for loss due to theft or damage.
• 8-10 food trucks will be onsite during festival. 
• Complimentary coffee and continental breakfast will be provided
• Estimated attendance is 10,000-20,000.
• Artists are encouraged to demonstrate their work within their tent area.
• Dogs are not permitted within the artist areas or The Toledo Botanical Garden.

 

These definitions exist for the purpose of this competition and will assist you in placing your artwork in the correct category.

Ceramics - Various hard and corrosion-resistant materials made by shaping and then firing an inorganic, nonmetallic material, such as clay, at a high temperature. Common examples are earthenware, porcelain, and brick.

Digital Media - This includes art that uses varying degrees of digital manipulation, digital illustration/painting and any artwork that uses artificial intelligence tools. (Digital Media) Artistic practice that uses digital technology as part of the creative or presentation process. (Digitally Manipulated Photography) Digitally editing a photograph significantly using digital filters, manipulating color, saturation, tone, or vibrance that is not the natural or original color, pixelation, any photoshopping beyond basic edits, erasure of elements in photograph, and recombination of images. All submissions in Digital art MUST include one photo with ready to hang artwork and the Artist Statement must include descriptions of process, including software used. 

Fiber Art - All work crafted from fibers including basketry, embroidery, weaving, leatherwork, and tapestry. This can be wearable or non-wearable. No machine tooling, machine-screened patterns or other forms of mass production are permitted. 

Glass –Includes glasswork that may be functional or decorative by design and is kiln-formed. Artwork should be crafted through blowing, fusing, staining, molding, or casting. No forms or mass production are permitted. 

Jewelry – Wearable artwork worn for personal adornment such as brooches, rings, necklaces, earrings, pendants, bracelets, and cufflinks. Jewelry often contains precious metals in combination with gemstones or other materials. All submissions must be fabricated or constructed by the submitting artist.

Metal - The process of creating art through the manipulation of various metals. These manipulations include forming, shaping, sawing, doming, fold forming, drilling, soldering, texturing, stamping, etc.

Mixed Media/Other – (Mixed Media) Artwork in which more than one differing medium or material has been employed. Assemblages, collages, and certain sculptures are three common examples. (Other) Artwork that has been created by the artist but does not fit cleanly into another category. Show management may reassign submissions that meet another category. 

Painting/Drawing – (Painting) Applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface. Commonly applied to the base with a brush, but other implements, such as knives, sponges, and airbrushes, can be used. (Drawing) Using instruments to mark paper or other two-dimensional surfaces. Instruments include graphite, inked brushes, colored pencils, crayons, charcoal, chalk, pastels, erasers, markers, styluses, and metals (such as silverpoint).

Photography - The art, application, and practice of creating durable images by recording light, either electronically by means of an image sensor, or chemically by means of light-sensitive material such as photographic film. For this competition, photographs taken with a digital camera are acceptable. Significant digital modification is not allowed in this category and should be considered in the Digital Media category. 

Wood – Original works that are hand-tooled, machine-worked, turned, or carved. Embellished manufactured wood items and mass production are not permitted.

 

Invitations must be accepted and full payment received by May 1. If an invitation is not accepted and the booth fee is not postmarked by that date, the invitation may be forfeited and offered to an artist on the waitlist. Any checks returned for non-sufficient funds will result in additional fees and removal from the show.

Artists accepted into The Toledo Festival of the Arts must submit payment by May 1, 2026. Preferred payment is by credit card through ZAPPlication; however, artists may also choose to pay by check made payable to "The Toledo Artists’ Club". Checks may be mailed or delivered in person Wednesday through Saturday, 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., at:

The Toledo Artists’ Club
5403 Elmer Dr.
Toledo, Ohio 43615

 

Terms of Entry

1.  All work MUST be the original work of the artist and all work must be for sale.  

 

2.  All work must be designed and executed by the accepted artist, who is required to be present at the festival for both days. Buy-sell art, art created by individuals other than the accepted artist, and work created from kits is unacceptable and grounds for ejection from the show.

 

3. Art created with the use of artificial intelligence tools must be fully disclosed in the artist’s statement within the application.

 

4.  Artists may only show work in categories approved by the jury. All work exhibited must be of the quality and type shown in the images submitted to the jury. Artist is limited to one category of art per booth.

 

5.  Prints from lithographs, monoprints, plates, screens, serigraphs and wood blocks must be created and produced by the artist. Only 20% of the entire body of work can be photo-mechanical reproductions.

 

6.  Artists MUST remain with their work for the entire two days of the festival and must remain open for the duration of the show. No early breakdown is permitted.

 

7.  Artists must use a WHITE tent, free from any logos or advertisements, and must provide all display equipment, including booth set up, chairs and tables. Artists may have an identifying sign on the front other booth. Artist must secure and stake their tent OR weight their tents with properly attached weights. (We recommend 40+lbs per leg due to the risk of high winds at the festival location.)  Artists may not display items outside of their designated tent space (10 x 10,10 x 20).  

 

8. Electricity is not available for artists. Generators are not permitted.

 

9. Artists are responsible for proper insurance and protection of self, work and set up. Toledo Artists Club will not be responsible for damage to work or set up due to weather or unrelated incidents. Toledo Artists Club will provide overnight security on Friday and Saturday night. Toledo Artists Club will not be responsible for theft, loss or physical injury to vendors, vendors' property and/or guests.  

 

10. All Vendors are required to have a vendor's license according to the state of Ohio.  A vendor's license can be obtained at the Ohio Department of Taxation website. Sales tax in Lucas County is 7.75%.

 

11. Artists MUST Park in designated artist parking locations. Maps will be provided in Artists packets. Artists may be ticketed and ejected from the show if they choose to do otherwise.

 

12. Toledo Artists Club has the right to photograph your booth during the event and use submitted application images in promotional materials for this year and future years.

 

 

BOOTH INFORMATION

Booth Set-up

Friday, June 26, 2026 8am to 8:00pm 

Booth load-in will be assigned staggered arrival times based on location.

 

Show Hours

Saturday, June 27, 2026 10am – 6pm

Sunday, June 28, 2026 10am – 4pm

 

Booth Cost

10x10: $275

10x20: $550

 

Artists must use a WHITE tent, free from any logos or advertisements, and must provide all display equipment, including booth set up, chairs and tables.  Artist must secure and stake their tent OR weight their tents with properly attached weights. (We recommend 40+lbs per leg due to the risk of high winds at the festival location.) Artists may not display items outside of their designated tent space (10 x 10, 10 x 20, Other). Electricity is not available for artists. 

 

Show management assigns all booths to ensure a cohesive flow and balance of mediums. Unless you are requesting an accessible space, specific location requests cannot be honored. A limited number of corner booths are available for purchase at checkout upon receiving

 

 

REFUND POLICY

Jury Fee is non-refundable. No refunds are permitted once your jury fees and/or booth fees have been paid.  No partial refunds.  This is a rain or shine event.