St. Armands Fall Fine Art Festival October 2026 (Paragon Festivals)

Join us for the fourth annual St. Armands Festival of the Arts, held in the vibrant and picturesque setting of St. Armands Circle. This year’s event takes place October 17–18, 2026.

St. Armands has consistently performed well across all art mediums since 2014, drawing a loyal and enthusiastic audience.

The show attracts art lovers from across the region, including St. Petersburg, Bradenton, Lakewood Ranch, Sarasota, Longboat Key, Siesta Key, Venice, Englewood, Port Charlotte, and Punta Gorda.

With Sarasota's steady population and economic growth, this is a prime opportunity to connect with buyers and expand your collector base along Florida’s west coast! 

                               Paragon events are always about Original - Quality - Boutique
 

2026 CALENDAR

Application deadline: August 17, 2026

Notification: August 18, 2026

Booth fee payment due: September 17, 2026 -NOTE: All booth fee payments are made directly to PARAGON - booth fee payments cannot be submitted through ZAPPLICATION.  Friday, October 16, 2026:  Check-in and setup: 12 pm - 6:00 pm You will be assigned a load-in time.

Saturday, October 17, 2026: Check-in and setup continue: 6 am - 8 am;  Show hours: 10 am 5pm 
 
Sunday, October 18, 2026:  Show hours: 10 am - 5 pm


ARTIST SERVICES:

• Overnight security, Friday and Saturday evening
• Friday afternoon setup

MEDIA CATEGORIES:
 

• Ceramics:  All original clay and porcelain work other than jewelry is accepted in this category. No machine-made or mass-produced work is permitted. If multiple pieces of the same design are displayed, each piece must be signed.

• Digital Art: This category includes any original work for which the original image or the manipulation of the 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: Work created using dry media such as chalk, charcoal, pastels, pencils, and wax crayons or from the fluid medium of inks and washes applied by pen or brush are to be entered in this category.

• Fiber: All work that is crafted from fibers including basketry, embroidery, weaving, leatherwork, tapestry, and paper-making. No machine tooling, machine-screened patterns, or other forms of mass production are permitted. No factory-produced wearable items regardless of additional modifications or enhancements by the artist may be exhibited.

• Glass: Original work created in glass by the artist. Pressed glass and mass production are not permitted.

• Graphic & Printmaking: Print works for which the artist's hand manipulated the plates, stones, or screens, which have been signed and numbered as a limited edition may be entered in this category. Offset reproductions are not allowed. Printmakers are required to disclose both their creative and printmaking processes.

• 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.

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

• Mixed Media: This category includes works, both 2D and 3D, that incorporate more than one type of physical material to produce. Includes non-sculptural work as determined by the artist. Jewelry and photography are not considered mixed media.
• Painting: Work created using such materials as oils, acrylics, and watercolor, is in this category. Reproductions are allowed; however, they must be signed and in limited editions.

• Photography: Photographic prints made from the artist's original image (e.g., film or digital) which have been processed by the artist or under their direct supervision, are included in this category. Images printed through software such as Photoshop are to be entered in this category, not in mixed-media or digital.
  All images are to be editioned with editions of each image not to exceed 250.
• Sculpture: Three-dimensional original work done in any medium (e.g., bronze, stone, acrylic)
• Wood: Original works that are hand-tooled, machine-worked, turned, or carved are accepted in the wood category.

 

JURY PROCESS

Jurying is conducted in-house by Paragon staff. This is a “blind” jury process which means artist scoring is based solely on the images presented without consideration of the artist's name, artist location, or reference to additional information such as websites. Juror decisions are based 70% upon the quality of work portrayed in the artwork images submitted for the jury process, and 30% on your booth presentation image. A booth image is mandatory. No images including the booth image should have the artist or any signage with the artist's name or business name visible and should represent the setup we will see at the event. Images are viewed simultaneously in a horizontal format, grouped by media.
 

IMAGE USAGE:

Accepted artists agree that Spada Graphix LLC (dba: Paragon Fine Arts Festivals) may use images for promotional, website, or publicity purposes.

STANDARDS and RULES:

1) All work must be original handcrafted work created by the artist(s) present at the event. Each artist guarantees the accuracy of the description of the works presented and the authenticity of the work as the creation of their own hands.

 

2) Work done by a production studio is not accepted.

 

3) All work must be designed and executed by the accepted artist.

 

4) No more than two (2) artists may collaborate on work. Both must be included in the application. Both must be present at the festival for the duration of the event.

 

5) Artists must be present with the work for the entire duration of the arts festival. Representatives, including spouses and family members, may not attend in lieu of the artist(s).

 

6) Artists are required to show photo identification (in English) at check-in to ensure identity and compliance.

 

7) Artists may only show work in categories and bodies of work selected by the jury.

 

8) All work exhibited must be in the category applied to and exhibit the quality and body of work that was shown in the images used in the jury process.

PROHIBITED:

No t-shirts, commercially manufactured items, items that employ the use of commercially available molds, velvet paintings, decoupage, or plants. Traditional crafts such as soaps, wax media (e.g., candles), scented oils, and homemade food items are not items juried into our fine art events. Please email us if you need clarification before applying. The Festival Committee reserves the right to exclude work that does not conform to show standards.

SALES TAX: Sales tax in Florida is currently 7.00%. A video is available online from the Florida DOR on how to complete Sales & Use Tax Returns at http://dor.myflorida.com/dor/training/dr15_new/safari3/index.html?dhtmlActivation=inplace

BOOTH FEES: 

APPLICATION FEE: $30.00

SINGLE booth fee:  $495.00
NOTE:  booth fee paid directly to Paragon Festivals - NOT to ZAPP

DOUBLE booth fee  $990.00
NOTE:  booth fee paid directly to Paragon Festivals - NOT to ZAPP

CORNER Fee: additional $100
NOTE:  booth fee paid directly to Paragon Festivals - NOT to ZAPP

A $50 late fee will be applied to all payments after 


DISPLAY SPACE: 

Booth spaces are 10x12. You must provide your own 10x10 white tent. (Paragon does not rent out tents) 

Upon acceptance, artists desiring corner or double spaces must specify and pay any applicable fees at the time payment is submitted. Specific space requests will be assigned based on the date payment is received. We will attempt to accommodate all reasonable requests however, we can not guarantee it. 

DISPLAY SURFACE:  Pavement/brick and grass: no drilling into or anchoring to the pavement is allowed; tents must be anchored by free-standing weights only. Dollying will be required. 

REFUND POLICY:

 

• CANCELLATION:  must be in writing, and submitted to our office by email. 

 

TIMELINE for CANCELLATION and REFUND

• If cancellations are received from 8 to 30 days prior to the event, you will receive a refund as follows:
  • 50% refund, OR
  • 100% credit towards another Paragon event of your choosing; however, you must apply to and be juried into that event. 
  • Credits are good for 2 years after the date given. 

• Cancellations made within 7 days of the event will not receive a refund or credit. No exceptions.