Lemonade Concert and Art Fair 2026

Event: The 53rd Annual Lemonade Concert and Art Fair is sponsored by the Department of Campus Involvement at St. Cloud State University. The Lemonade event traditionally has 2,500 – 5,000 people in attendance.  Throughout the day there will be music groups, roving performers, a wide variety of foods, a children’s art and entertainment area and an evening symphony orchestra performance.  

Location:  St. Cloud State University campus grounds on 6th Street South and 1st Avenue, St. Cloud, MN 

Date:  Thursday, June 25, 2026 (rain or shine)   

Time: Set-up: 7:00 – 10:30AM 

Art and Craft Fair: 11:00AM – 7:00PM 

Evening Concert: 7:00PM 

For 2026, we are accepting art within a number of categories, including:  

1. Artisan Home & Body: This limited category includes items such as candles, soaps, lotions, salves, and fragrances. Items are to be considered based on artistic message/value. No commercial products are allowed. 

2. Ceramics/Glass: Original work other than jewelry. No molds or other forms of mass production allowed. 

3. Digital Art: This category includes any original work for which the original image, or the manipulation of other source material, was executed by the artist using a computer. Work in this category must be in limited editions, signed and numbered on archival quality materials. Traditional photographs taken through digital media should apply in the photography category. 

4. Fiber: All work crafted from fibers including two-dimensional, basketry, embroidery, weaving, hand-woven or hand-sewn clothing, leatherwork, tapestry and papermaking. No machine tooling, machine-screened patterns or other forms of mass production are permitted.  

5. Functional Art: 3-D creations which serve a purpose such as implements, furniture, doll houses, wind chimes, kaleidoscopes, etc. 

6. Jewelry: All jewelry whether the work is produced from metal, glass, clay, fiber, paper, plastic or other materials must be entered in this category. No commercial casts, molds or production studio work is allowed. No strung pearls or beads. We anticipate limiting the quantity in this category. 

7. Metalwork: Includes all non-sculptural, non-jewelry works crafted from metals. No production studio work is allowed. 

8. Painting/Drawing: Works created in oils, acrylics, watercolor, pencil, charcoal, chalk, pastels, inks, etc. are in this category. Reproductions are prohibited except for prints of the artist's original work, signed and numbered on archival quality materials. 

9. Photography: Photographic prints made from the artist's original image, which have been processed by or under the direct supervision of the artist. Photographers are required to disclose both their creative and printing processes. At least 75 percent of an artist's work in this category must be in limited editions, signed and numbered on archival quality materials. 

10. Sculpture: Three-dimensional original work done in any medium.  

11. Woodworking: Original works in wood that are hand-tooled, machine-worked, turned or carved. 

For 2026, we are accepting a limited number of the following categories: 

1. Henna, Face painting, Temporary: Vendors who produce art on-site which is drawn, painted, or otherwise applied to a person, to include henna, face painting, and similar work. Exhibitors in this category MUST provide a copy of their liability insurance upon request by event organizers. The number of vendors in this category will be limited and placed separately. 

2. Farmer’s Market & Hand-made Artisan Food: Pre-packaged artisan food items prepared offsite in a licensed facility and not packaged or intended for on-site consumption to include jams or jellies, honey, or similar products. These booths/products will be sold only in a designated area of the event with the concurrent farmer’s market. Vendors should be aware of relevant food safety laws (including Cottage Food Law if applicable) and may be required by SCSU to provide proof up to $2 million in liability insurance. A copy of your current licensure information is required for artisan food applications. The number of vendors in this category will be limited and placed separately. 

Handcrafted arts and crafts only. This event's brand as a showcase for handcrafted art and crafts is important to SCSU. No imports, commercial jewelry, kits, pre-molded ceramics, or manufactured items are allowed. Items will be reviewed on site and vendors selling items deemed not to meet this standard may be asked to leave immediately without a refund of the registration fee. Artists are requested to submit a statement on their process to be considered for acceptance no matter if they are a new vendor or a returning vendor. 

ALL entries must attach photos (Including those that have participated in the past). Photos must be reflective of what vendors intend to sell at the event. Misrepresentation may be grounds for immediate removal from the fair. Photos can be printed on paper or can be emailed to lemonade@stcloudstate.edu (please include your first and last name and your business name in the email).  

June 12, 2026: Registration deadline; Paper applications must be postmarked or delivered by 4pm. We will consider all applications received by this date. Notification of acceptance will be made on an on-going basis. Applications submitted after May 8th are subject to late fees and space availability. Applications will not be considered after June 12.  

Week of June 16, 2026: All accepted vendors will be sent electronic confirmation materials (including set up information, booth notes, rain plan, etc.) to their listed e-mail address.    

*Payment
Accepted vendors will be notified via e-mail and then asked to finish the payment via the Zapplication payment portal. We ask that vendors finalize payment as soon as they are able to. Only paid vendors will be assigned a booth space.
 
All vendors must submit a completed Minnesota Department of Revenue form ST-19 with their application. Clicking the hyperlink will re-direct you to a PDF. The completed form can be e-mailed or mailed to contact address. 

Fee: The booth fee is *$70 per (10'x10') space, plus a $15 processing fee. **The $70 per booth fee is only charged once a vendor has been accepted. You can expect an e-mail notifying you of your status, and then you must log back into Zapplication to finalize your booth payment. A $35 late fee is applied for applications received after May 8, 2026.

The $15 processing fee is non-refundable.

If paying by check, make payable to St. Cloud State, and submit two separate checks for $70 and $15.

Size: Space allotment is 10’x10’ per booth. 

Set-Up, Load-Out, and Event Hours: Art vendor load-in runs from 7:00am to 10:30am on the morning of Thursday, June 25. Please do not arrive prior to 7:00am. No vendor will be allowed to set up early on Thursday. The show starts at 11:00am and runs until 7:00pm. Vendors are expected to stay for the duration of the show. Vendors who pack up early may not be asked to return.  

Our Grounds: The event is held on the outdoor campus grounds. Spaces consist of a variety of natural circumstances including: sun/shade/partial shade, flat/slight incline/incline, and either on grass or cement. We cannot accomodate all space requests.

Booth Placement: Accepted and paid vendors will be notified in a confirmation email the week of June 16 of their booth placement. Placement is determined by a number of factors. Our numbering maps have changed over the past few years due to green space changes on campus, and this has made it increasingly difficult for us to honor same placement of previous years. We cannot guarantee that all space requests will be honored. If there are complaints about your booth placement, we cannot guarantee an adjustment to your space. We appreciate your understanding on this matter.

Multiple Booths: Artists may purchase more than 1 booth space. Double booth space requests would include two 10x10 ft spaces next to each other. If you purchase multiple booths, we cannot guarantee same booth placement as previous years due to the complexity of mapping.

Parking: Each vendor will receive one parking pass for a single vehicle which may include a trailer. Parking assignments will be included with booth assignment information. 

Other Important Info:  

• NO staking of tents will be allowed. You must bring your own weights for tent poles; this is a safety requirement.
• Artists are to furnish their own props. 
• We strongly recommend a hand-cart or some means to bring items to your booth space in a timely fashion. We do our best to arrange your load-in location as close to your booth as possible. 
• Wi-fi information will be provided by request. Not all outdoor spaces are Wi-fi accessible.
• Electricity may be located near your booth, but not guaranteed. 
• Restrooms are located inside each campus building. 
• St. Cloud State campus is tobacco-free. 

Accessibility/Handicap Requests: For handicap accessible requests, please make a comment at the end of your application or e-mail the artist coordinator at lemonade@stcloudstate.edu. We will make a conserted effort to place handicapped individuals as close as possible to their parking lot and space assignment. Please note that we are a large campus, and there still will be some distance involved even when efforts are made to accommodate. 

Accepted vendors will be sent electronically a packet of information the week of June 16 with specifics on booth location, parking, inclement weather planning, and more! Please review the confirmation email closely, and bring a printed copy with you the day of the fair.

Once payments are processed, payments are non-refundable.