Trinidad Art Fest 2026

The 4nd anual Trinidad Art Fest will be held in Trinidad's historic downtown. The event will be located outdoors. It is necessary for every artist to bring a canopy/tent type structure to protect themselves and artwork. Typically, Trinidad Colorado recieves over 300 days of sunshine; but an afternoon rain/wind can happen in the summer monsoon season. The artist will be reqired to supply their own canopy/tent to sheild themselves and artworks from the sun/rain/wind. Exceptions can be made for 3D/ Sculpture artist who's art does not require safety from the elements.

Artist amenities include meals, drinks and snacks during the festival, free parking, and booth sitting and overnight security of booths.

Prize Money 

First Place                        $1000

Second Place                   $750

Third Place                       $500 

Honorable Mention           $250

A credentialed judge will be present the morning of the19th for in-person judging. Prize recipients from 2024 and previous years are automatically accepted to TAF 2026, but must still apply to TAF through Zapplication. 

Event Details 

The 4rd annual Trinidad Arts Festival will be held September 18,19th and 20th, 2026 in Downtown Trinidad, Colorado. 

Booth artists will be given a booth space, and will be required to bring thier own professoinal tent/canopy setup. No commission is charged, only a flat booth rate.  Artists are required to collect proper sales tax. Tax information will be given to accepted arts.

The advertising campaign for the event includes print, radio, event posters displayed at high traffic local businesses and social media. 

TAF will provide all participating artists an Artist Information Packet at the end of August.  

Hours of Operations 

Artist Set-Up: Friday, September 18th, 2026   1pm - 5pm and/or Saturday Septmeber 19th, 8:30a-9:45a

Festival: Friday September 18th Evening (optional) 5pm-dusk
Saturday, September 19th, 10am - 5pm
Sunday September 20th, 10am-4pm

Load out: Sunday, September 20th, 2026 after 4PM 

Important Dates:

Artist Acceptance and Booth Fee Deadline: August 8/31/26

Artist Amenities 

Volunteer booth sitters, dedicated artist hospitality, and free parking. Each artist and one (1) assistant shall receive meal ticket(s) for one meal daily provided by food trucks. These must be presented at time of redemption. Please be aware that we are not able to cater to all diets, allergies, or dietary needs, so please plan accordingly.  

Admission is underwritten by local companies in order to offer free admission to the community.

Accepted Media Categories 

Ceramics: Original clay work. No machine made or mass produced work is accepted. Each item must be signed. 

Pottery: Hand built or pottery wheel created works. Each piece must be signed.

Fiber: Original work of primarily fiber including soft sculpture, batik, painted fabric and baskets. 

Glass: Original work in which the primary material is glass. No manufactured molds or other forms of mass production allowed. 

Graphic Art/Printmaking/Drawing: Original works made with pen, pencil or other markers, including charcoal or traditional printmaking. Prints hand pulled by artists from traditional methods, including etching, engraving, silkscreen, stone and plate lithography, linoleum block or woodcut, produced in signed and numbered limited editions from an original image created by the artist. 

Jewelry: Original jewelry made from precious and non-precious metals, gemstones, enamel, glass, clay, fiber, etc. No mass production techniques allowed. 

Metalwork: Includes all non-sculptural, non-jewelry works crafted from metals. 

Painting: Original painted works made with oils, acrylics, watercolors, or pastels. 

Photography:Prints from the artist’s camera, taken by hand of the artist, and must be processed by the artist or under artist's supervision. 

Digital Art: Prints from the artist’s orginal works, created by the artist. No AI generated works will be accepted. We may choose to request the origial files to confirm that the works are craeted by the artist and no Artifical Inteligence was used in the production of the work.

Sculpture: Original non-functional, 3-dimensional work of any material. 

2-D Mixed Media: Original work incorporating more than one material. 

3-D Mixed Media: Original 3- dimensional work incorporating more than one material. 

Woodwork: Original woodwork, hand tooled, carved, or machine worked.

The artist must personally be present for the duration of the show. We will verify identity at the time of set–up, (bring a picture I.D.), you may not be represented by someone else.

Artist will collect and remit sales tax to the State of Colorado and city of Trinidad. This requires a multiple event tax license available from the Colorado Department of Revenue. Details on how to get the license are provided with jury acceptance.

All work must be the product of your personal inspiration, and be made by you, this means your hands, and at most 2-3 other people. If you took the photograph, drew or painted the image, you may have clearly labeled prints. No AI generated work will be accepted.

We do not permit buy/sell or work from commercial molds, assembly from entirely store bought items, mass produced work, food items, candles, lotions, t-shirts, or any flea market type items.  If there is a question about the artist being the maker, we would ask that you supply a picture of you in your studio making the item that was in one of your jury slides. Also be prepared to show invoices for raw materials you have purchased for use in your work. If your art is deemed to be prefabricated by another artist, you will be asked to leave. If you designed it and have some one else make it for you, either in this country or off shore, you will be asked to leave as well.  

Photography: Artists agree to allow The Trinidad Arts Fest to photograph their displays and artwork before and during the event for promotional purposes.

 

Booths - Artists must provide their own 10’ x10’ booths and displays. Some booths require shims/weights since we are in a City Park. Booths must be white in color.

 

10 x 10 booth in line - $95.00
10 x 20 booth in line -$175.00
 

Options are not guaranteed and will be assigned by booth fee payment date after jury selection.

 

Weights - All Booths must have Weights! We recommend at least 40lbs per leg on your booth. Colorado winds and gusts are unpredictable and can ruin a booth and the art work inside in moments. Put weights on bottom legs, not hanging as we have seen booths with hanging weights snap.

 

Check in  & Set Up- You must check in prior to setup. Setup begins at 1pm September 18th. Volunteers will be on site to help you find your location, and help carry/set up. The festival will be protected overnight by security  

All of the booths will require a short dolly for setup.

We require that your display fit in the allotted space.

Artist understands that there are no refunds or rain checks due to inclement weather, theif, booth malfunction or other acts of God.

Artist will pay a non-refundable Application fee. Artist booth fees are non-refundable, exceptions can be made for certian cercumasances but are at the full discression of the Trinidad Art Fest Board.