Duluth Handmade Holiday Market 2026, (DULUTH, GA)

The Handmade Holiday Market is part of the annual “Deck the Hall” celebration presented by the City of Duluth in the heart of historic Downtown Duluth, Georgia. Set on the Town Green and surrounding Main Street district, this festive market is integrated into one of Gwinnett County’s most beloved holiday traditions, drawing families from across metro Atlanta for a full day and evening of seasonal activities.

Visitors come to enjoy the city’s tree lighting, Santa visits, live entertainment, food vendors, and holiday attractions — all while strolling through a curated marketplace of handmade goods. The event is designed as a walk-through holiday village, allowing patrons to circulate throughout the district multiple times, creating strong engagement and excellent buying energy for artists and makers.

This family-oriented audience arrives specifically in a gift-buying mindset, making the market especially successful for handcrafted items, seasonal décor, ornaments, candles, jewelry, woodwork, and personalized gifts. Evening hours are particularly active as the Town Green lights up and crowds gather for the holiday celebration.

Downtown Duluth’s restaurants, shops, and free public parking contribute to a welcoming, pedestrian-friendly environment where visitors linger and shop. The City heavily promotes the event through municipal channels and community outreach, helping generate consistent attendance and repeat visitors each year.

Festival Hours: Saturday 2pm - 6pm

IMPORTANT DATES & DEADLINES:
Accept applications: February 17, 2026
Application Deadline: October 26, 2026
Accept invitation & purchase deadline: November 24, 2026
WaitList Released:  November 24, 2026, *(or when deemed appropriate by the Director)

Event Dates: December 05, 2026
SATURDAY 2:00 P.M. - 7:00 P.M.
Load-In: Saturday, December 05, 2026 (12:00 P.M. - 2:00 P.M.) .

Late applications may be accepted at the discretion of the Director and included on the Wait List.

Duluth Handmade Holiday Market at Duluth Deck the Hall Annual Christmas Event: Decemver 05, 2026

The Duluth Handmade Holiday Market at Duluth Deck the Hall Annual Christmas Event is organized in part by the Atlanta Foundation for Public Spaces, LLC, and a board of experts in various artistic disciplines.  The festival will uphold the highest standards supporting the arts and offer participating artists the environment to nurture an appreciation for their skills.

CATEGORIES
2-D Mixed Media: Includes more than one type of physical material such as collage, papermaking, encaustic, pen and ink, paint, pencil, watercolor, or photography.  Finished art must be suitable for wall mounting. 
3-D Mixed Media: Includes more than one type of physical material such as mosaic, papier mache, clay, fiber, glass, metal, wood, or any other 3-dimensional objects.
Ceramics: Original shaped and fired clay including earthenware, porcelain, and raku.
Digital Art: Two-dimensional works from which the original image is manipulated by the artist using a computer using programs such as Drawing, Illustrator, Paint, or other software applications. 
Drawing & Printmaking: Original drawings made with pen, pencil, charcoal, pastels, or chalk.  The Printmaking process may include pulled plates, linoleum prints, etching, engraving, silkscreen, or lithography.  All prints must be signed and numbered by the artist. Photocopies are not permitted.
Fiber: Works created from fibers including basketry, batik, weaving, papermaking, knitting, and quilting.  The embellishment of manufactured materials is not permitted.  
Glass: An object made of glass including blown, fused, stained, cast, and molded.  The embellishment of manufactured materials is not permitted.
Handicraft:  Handmade items made by the artist from manufactured, recycled, or repurposed materials transforming the combined materials into a unique product in a cohesive collection.  A complete description of items is required.
Jewelry: All Jewelry is crafted from metal, glass, stone, clay, or other materials.  Commercial molds or casts are not permitted.  At least 50% of the organic materials in the finished product used must be produced by the artist.
Metal: Functional and non-sculptural works incorporating metal.
Painting: The use of oils, acrylics, watercolors, and tempera suitable for hanging.
Photography: Prints, transparencies, or digital images made from the artist’s original negative or taken with a digital camera that has been processed by the artist.
Sculpture: Three-dimensional work is done in any individual medium.
Wood & Furniture: Original works in wood that are built, turned, carved ,or tooled. Embellished manufactured wood items are not permitted.
 
PROHIBITED ITEMS
- T-shirts and commercial clothing
- Posters
- Manufactured toys
- Commercially manufactured or reproduced items (resale)
- Jewelry is made from more than 50% manufactured components
-  Any item that employs the use of commercially available molds or patterns
 
AMENITIES
- Free Parking Nearby
- Designated Festival Hotline available during event hours regarding assistance, emergencies, questions, concerns, etc.
 
ADVERTISING & PROMOTION
- AFFPS is among the top award-winning art festival organizations in the southeast. 
- Three Events listed in the TOP 100 by Sunshine Artists 
- Voted Best Festivals by local media
-  A holder of the only Guinness World Record by any arts festival organization in the U.S. 
- AFFPS employs professional marketing strategies including:
            - PR and online media platforms
            - Print and online media ads
            - Radio and TV
            - Billboards, banners, posters, and yard signs
            - Extensive business partner collaboration
            - Social media
            - Dedicated interactive website
            - Direct mail
            - 300+ online calendar entries
 
PARKING
Off-site Artist Parking will be available.  
Artists' parking will be available at 3221 Hill Street, NW, Duluth, GA 30096
 
WAITLIST
A waitlist will be maintained.  Selected waitlisted artists may be contacted when the Wait List is released prior to the event date.
 
NO SHOW POLICY
Artists who have not checked in and/or called the Festival Emergency Number (the number will be available in confirmation materials) by Friday at 8:00 a.m. will be considered a “no-show.” No Show artists are not eligible for refunds.  Assigned space(s) will be forfeited to a wait-list artist.
 
RAIN OR SHINE
There will be no “rain date” and fees will not be refunded in the case of inclement weather.  The event will take place rain or shine. 
 
SALES TAX
Artists are responsible for collecting and reporting Sales Taxes.  Sales Tax reporting documents are provided to participating artists at check-in at the event.  The current Sales Tax rate for this event is 7% (Georgia 4%, Gwinnett County 3%).

HOW THE FEES ARE USED
All AFFPS Festivals support the Georgia Foundation for Public Spaces, a not-for-profit organization dedicated to building a stronger arts community.  The GFPS provides scholarships for artists to help them with their artistic career

To view the AFFPS Event Policies for Artists:
1. The Festival provides only the ground space for exhibits.  Each Exhibitor must provide and prepare his/her own displays. This is an outdoor event, you must provide your own tent and display materials.
2. Exhibitors will be notified of their site location and detailed setup information - at check-in. 
3. After unloading Exhibitor vehicles must be moved to designated parking.  Vehicles will not be permitted to remain in the public parking area during the Festival, nor may they enter the Festival grounds until approved by the Festival Committee.
4. Exhibitors shall be responsible for obtaining any required licenses, permits, or approvals under state laws applicable to his/her activity at the Festival and for paying any taxes, sales taxes, fees, or, other charges that may be applicable to any Exhibitor's activity at the Festival.
5. The Festival is a rain or shine event. At this time, no refunds will be given for cancellations to the event or for no-shows, by the Artists. 
6. The Festival reserves the right to cancel an Exhibitor's contract.  The Festival may require the Exhibitor to leave the Festival at any time if the Exhibitor is in violation of any rules and/or regulations stated herein.
The Festival may require the Exhibitor to leave the Festival at any time if the Exhibitor is in violation of any rules and/or regulations stated herein. All participants must adhere to the COVID guidelines and wear a mask over both nose and face at all times, while on the defined festival site, no exception.
7. Neither AFFPS nor its agents or representatives will be responsible for any injury, damage, or loss that may occur to the Exhibitor, the Exhibitor's agents or representatives, or, his/her property from any cause whatsoever.  Exhibitors should obtain, at their own expense, insurance against any loss, damage, or injury they may require.
8. All Artist Market merchandise must be original, handmade, and, created by the Exhibitor.  Reproductions must be clearly identified as such. Original art must occupy at least 50% of the artist's space.  Browse bins may occupy only minimal space and must be aesthetically pleasing and not obstruct patron flow.  All artwork on display must be for sale.
9. Artists may only show work in categories approved by the Jury.
10. Artists must be present with their work for the duration of the Festival.  No commercial agents, dealers, or, salespeople may operate an artist's booth.
11. Only individual artists or two-person collaborative artists are permitted to submit an application. Applications received from artist groups will be returned or rejected.
12. Booth sharing among non-collaborating artists is not permitted.  
13. In the occurrence that the event has to be canceled, postponed, or suspend, as a result of a pandemic such as the COVID Pandemic of 2020/2021. Full credit for the upcoming show will be given and a Zapp code will be generated.
14. Submission by credit card is an acceptance of these terms and as such in the event that any dispute related to credit card charges, will be binding under the terms of this agreement, additionally, the artist agrees to defend (accept) said charges and associated fees.

IDENTIFICATION: All Participating Artists are required to present Identification during check-in. Please have your driver's license on hand.

WEIGHTS REQUIRED:
AFFPS requires professional weights, min. 45 lbs. - 50 lbs per/each on all tent legs. 
Because, we are set up in City Park settings - NO ONE is permitted to stake, tie to a tree, lamp post, etc.
As such we require that anyone participating come equipped with the minimum standards of weights for their tent.
Any Artist that arrives without weights will not be permitted to set up and as such will forfeit their participation fee.

ARTIST:
Application fee: $30 
Standard space 10’x10’: $100   Electricity: $100 (limited availability)
Corner Booth:$50 (limited availability)
 
Businesses/Sponsorship: Please contact: randallfox2003@yahoo.com

Assigned booth spaces are approximately 11’ deep by 11" wide. (Social Distancing will be practiced during this event) Double booths are also available.  All work exhibited must be confined to the assigned space(s). Artists are responsible for providing their own means of displaying their work. 

LOAD-IN/LOAD OUT
Artists can load in only during the designated times and must check in with a photo ID. All participants will be responsible for carrying or hand-carting all materials.  Drop-off areas are all on single-lane roads so we depend upon artists’ cooperation to keep traffic moving at a pace that will allow everyone equal time to set up. We ask that you unload and then move your vehicle before you start set-up. Artists will be responsible for hand carting all work and displays for load-in and load-out.  All work must be dollied or wagoned in.

Things happen and we understand that, as such any cancellations up to 90 days prior to the event will have fees applied to the next scheduled show. There are no refunds within 60 days of the event. There are no refunds for booth fees applied to a previously canceled show. All credits must be used within one calendar year and it is the Artist's responsibility to track them. At times we offer the opportunity to secure a spot to artists from the immediately preceding year to grab a jury-exempt spot, those fees are non-refundable.

Artists that have a credit must apply to the show as they normally would, and notify the show director that they have applied, at that time they will be confirmed, once we are able to verify any credits. All application deadlines, etc. must be met/followed.

Additionally, credits if given must be applied to the show that it was given and may not transfer to another show, as they are considered separate entities.

Application/Administrative fees are non-refundable as outlined in the application.

• There are no rain dates and no refunds for show cancellation due to rain, floods, tornados, hurricanes, acts of God, acts of government, acts of other official authority, or for any other reason. If for any reason you are asked to leave the show for not following rules, guidelines, social media posts, acting up or disturbing your neighbors, etc. those fees are also non-refundable. Arriving without the necessary/required recommended weights automatic forfeiture of fees paid / 160lbs/40lbs per leg.