Fall Festival of the Arts - DeLand 2026

Celebrating its 33rd year, The Fall Festival of the Arts-DeLand, presented in cooperation with the Museum of Art - DeLand and MainStreet DeLand Association, is an exciting, juried fine art show. The main street of the historic preservation district of downtown DeLand provides a charming backdrop for this annual festival which is dedicated to those who create as well as those who appreciate and collect art.
 
Over $60,000 available in Judges' awards (including $4,000 Best of Show) and  Patron/Collector purchase awards. Fine art exhibits presented by our juried artists, great music, and youth activities draw a crowd of more than 55,000 patrons over the two day festival.

2026 Calendar:

August 7, 2026 - DEADLINE to apply
August 11, 2026 - Jury starts
August 14, 2026 - Jury ends
August 21, 2026 -NOTIFICATION of jury results
September 11, 2026 - ACCEPT Invitation and Purchase Deadline
October 9, 2026 - Welcome packet & booth assignment sent
November 21, 2026 - Artist check-in begins at 5:30 am and set-up 6 am - 10 am. Show Hours 10 am - 5 pm
November 21, 2026 - Artist Appreciation & Awards Event (includes dinner) 5:30 - 7 pm
November 22, 2026 - Show Hours 10 am - 4 pm

Media Categories:

• Ceramics: This category includes all original clay and porcelain work, other than jewelry. No machine-made or mass produced work is permitted. Each piece must be signed.

• Digital Art: This category includes any original work for which the original image or the artistic manipulation of an appropriated source material is executed by the artist using a computer. Work in this category must be limited editions, signed and numbered on archival quality materials. Photographs taken through a digital camera should apply in the PHOTOGRAPHY category.

• Drawing: This category includes works created using such dry media as chalk, charcoal, pastels, pencils and wax crayon or from the fluid medium of inks and washes applied by pen or brush.
• Fiber: This category includes all work crafted from fibers including basketry, weaving, leatherwork, and paper making. No machine tooling, machine-screened patterns, or other forms of mass productions are permitted. No factory-produced wearable items, regardless of additional modifications or enhancements by the artist, may be exhibited.

• Glass: This category includes original work created in glass by the artist. Pressed glass and mass production are not permitted.

• Jewelry: This category includes all jewelry, whether the work is produced from metal, glass, clay, fiber, paper, plastic or other materials. No buy sell, commercial casts or mass produced by another manufacturer, molds, or production studio work allowed.

• Metalwork: This category includes all non-sculptural, non-jewelry works crafted from metal. No production studio work is allowed.

• Mixed Media: This category includes both 2D and 3D works  that incorporates more than one type of physical material to produce. Jewelry is not considered mixed-media; jewelry must apply in the JEWELRY category. Photography is not considered mixed-media; photography must apply in the PHOTOGRAPHY category.
• Painting: This category includes works created using such materials as oils, acrylics and watercolor. Reproductions are allowed; however, they must be signed and limited editions. Please see #12 under Rules / Regulations for reproduction guidelines.
• Photography: This category includes photographic prints made from the artist's original image (film or digital) which have been processed by the artist or under their direct supervision. Images edited through software such as Photoshop are to be entered in this category, not in mixed-media or digital art.
 All images are to be signed and editioned. Please see #11 & #12 under Rules / Regulations for edition guidelines.
• Printmaking: This category includes print works for which the artist's hand manipulated the plates, stones or screens, which have been signed and numbered as a limited edition. Offset reproductions are not allowed. Please see #9 under Rules / Regulations for the Artist Technique and Process Statement requirements.

• Sculpture: This category includes three-dimensional original work done in any medium.
• Wood: This category includes original works that are hand-tooled, machine-worked, turned or carved.

The Festival Welcomes All Artists to Apply:
 

• Fees: $45 Application Fee, $295 Booth Fee.
• Artists who received an Award of Merit or higher at the 2025 Fall Festival of the Arts-DeLand are automatically accepted. Although these 2025 winners are exempt from jurying, they are still required to submit an application, pay the application fee, and submit digital images for possible publicity purposes.
• A list of accepted artists, along with an image of their work, will be posted on our website.
• Once an artist accepts the invitation to participate, they are obligated to show. No refunds shall be made for cancellation or for inclement weather or other acts of man or nature over which the Festival has no control; the risk and/or loss from such an event will be borne by the exhibitor.
• Please notify us of any email or physical address change.

Judging:

Awards are given based on the Judges’ scoring of each artist’s body-of-work as displayed in the booth. Individual pieces will NOT be removed from your booth. Awards are not given based on category.

Please see the festival website for more information about this year's judges.

The Fall Festival of the Arts-DeLand Board reserves the right to substitute judges if circumstances require.

Awards:
 

• Best of Show 1 @ $4,000
• 2D Judge’s Choice 1 @ $2,500
• 3D Judge’s Choice 1 @ $2,500
• Award of Excellence 2 @ $1,500
• Award of Distinction 4 @ $1,000
• Award of Merit 5 @ $750
• Award of Recognition 6 @ $500
• Honorable Mention 8 @ $300
   

Artist Amenities:.

• Artist Oasis Saturday and Sunday (includes breakfast and lunch each day)
• Artist Appreciation & Awards Event on Saturday night (includes dinner)
• Boothsitters
• Easy load-in and load-out
• Dedicated Artist parking areas
• Complimentary link on the Fall Festival web site to the Artist’s web site

 

1. Artists may not apply in more than one category.
2. Submitted images (including a current booth shot) must not show artist or business name in image or tag line. Images must not contain actual people.
3. Only one artist will be permitted to exhibit in each space. A two-person collaborative team may qualify as a single exhibitor if both participate equally in the fabrication of the artwork. Must be a true hands-on collaboration – not assistants in the process. Each member’s contribution to the artwork (description and percentage) must be defined in the Description of Materials and Technique section of the application. Co-Artists must both sign the application.
4. Accepted artists, including both members of an artist collaborative team, must be present and remain at the Festival both days until the Festival ends.
5. Photo ID is required at the time of check in.
6. Artists must comply with all pertinent State of Florida sales tax regulations.
7. All work exhibited must be in the category applied to and exhibit the quality and body-of-work that were shown in the images submitted for jury.
8. For the purpose of judging, all artwork must be original, signed, created by the artist since 2023, and offered for sale.
9. An Artist Technique & Process Statement (specific description of process, technique and materials, NOT philosophy) including a picture of the artist, must be prominently displayed in your booth.
10. Paintings, graphics, and photographs must be suitably matted and framed.
11. Original artwork must comprise the majority of your framed pieces. The three primary interior walls of your booth must exhibit only original art.
    A) With regard to Photography, please see Photography guidelines under Media Categories.
12. Reproductions of an artist’s one-of-a-kind painting, drawing, pastel, collage or mixed media may be exhibited subject to the following conditions:
    A)  All reproductions, whether framed or unframed, must be signed and clearly and individually labeled: “Giclee (or Xerox, offset, etc.) Reproduction of an oil (or acrylic, watercolor, ink, pastel, etc.) Painting (or drawing, ink, pastel, etc.)” This notice must appear on the front of each item displayed. Failure to comply will result in expulsion from the festival.
    B) Edition information, indicating the number of times an image has or will be reproduced, (e.g. 1/50, 1/200) should be indicated on each reproduction. Open editions, where an unlimited number of prints will be made, should be noted on or near the print in the booth.
    C) Framed reproductions may be displayed in browse bins and/or hung on exterior walls or a supplementary 4th wall of the booth. All unframed reproductions must be displayed in browse bins. Non-original art such as cards and posters are allowed, but only at a minimum, and must be displayed in browse bins.
13. The Fall Festival of the Arts-DeLand values original artwork. Exhibiting artists are expected to show work that is their own and that does not violate the ownership or copyright of any other artist, whether that artist is part of the Festival or not. It is the responsibility of exhibiting artists to be familiar with prevailing copyright law and create work in accordance with those regulations. Any artist found to be in violation of copyright protection will not be invited back to future festivals.
14. Commercial exhibits, mass-produced items, kits, candles, mold ceramics, shells, mass manufactured baskets, strung beads, dough, decoupage, crocheting, knitting, artificial flowers, etc., except one-of-a-kind items made by the artist’s hand, are not eligible to be exhibited. Studios producing works in volume are not eligible for entry.
15. The Fall Festival of the Arts-DeLand Board reserves the right to prohibit display of work it deems unacceptable.
16. Ribbons and awards from other shows may not be displayed.
17. All displays will be reviewed to assure compliance with the Festival Rules. Failure to abide by these rules may result in some or all of the following: exclusion from judging; immediate removal of artwork; rejection from this year’s Festival; suspension from exhibiting in the Festival for three years.

Artists will be assigned a 12’ X 12’ exhibit space suitable for a 10’X10’ tent. Booths are set-up back-to-back in the center of the street.  Work must be contained within the assigned space. Storage behind the booth, only, is allowed. Artists are required to use a substantial display that withstands wind and crowds. Water resistant coverings are highly recommended and, if used, must include weights. Under no circumstances may a tent be physically secured to the roadway. To allow access for emergency vehicles, tent awnings that protrude in the front are not permitted.

The Festival Committee makes every effort to accommodate booth location requests.

A limited number of double booth spaces may be available upon request only.

Saturday morning set-up.  Set-ups begin at 6:00 a.m. and must be completed by 10:00 a.m. Road Crew members will be on hand for assistance as needed Saturday morning. No early set-ups are allowed.

Additional information concerning set-up procedures, parking, maps, motels, etc. will be sent to all accepted artists via e-mail in mid-October.

Once an artist has accepted our invitation to show no refunds will be given.