Spring Daze Arts & Crafts Festival 2027

Spring Daze Arts & Crafts Festival 2027
April 24, 2027
(Raindate: Sunday, April 25, 2027 – 1pm - 6pm)

OVERVIEW
Spring Daze Arts and Crafts Festival is held annually on the last Saturday in April at Fred G. Bond Metro Park in Cary, North Carolina. The 310-acre park provides a natural setting for a one-day festival featuring juried visual art, live entertainment, food, and community activities. Spring Daze highlights North Carolina's arts community and typically welcomes thousands of visitors.

Eligibility requirement: Spring Daze is open only to artists who live in North Carolina. Residency will be verified.

** Only residents of North Carolina are eligible to apply for Spring Daze**
 

ARTIST AMENITIES
Spring Daze provides participating artists with amenities that may include:

• On-site artist parking located near the festival footprint
• RV parking; no hookups provided
• Artist hospitality with snacks and water
• Artist lunch delivery program
• Artist listings on the festival website with images, artist name, and website link
• Overnight festival security
• Booth sitter support
• Volunteer support throughout the event
• Artists retain all proceeds from sales

ARTIST PROCESS STATEMENT
Applicants must provide a concise description of the materials, techniques, and production process used to create the submitted body of work. The statement should address the following items when applicable:

• Primary materials and artistic techniques
• Tools or equipment used
• The portions of the work completed personally by the artist
• Printing, fabrication, or finishing completed by another provider
• Use of molds, commercial components, digital fabrication, photography, editions, or other specialized processes

The statement should focus on how the work is made rather than the artist's biography, inspiration, or how patrons interact with the work. Maximum length is 500 characters.

MEDIA DESCRIPTIONS

NOTE: All jewelry must be juried in the jewelry category.  Only those artists accepted in the jewelry category may display or sell jewelry. All jewelry, whether produced from metal, glass, clay, fiber, wood or other materials must apply in the jewelry category.

Ceramics: Original functional or decorative works created primarily from clay or porcelain and permanently transformed through firing. Hand-building, wheel-throwing, sculpting, slip-casting from artist-designed molds, and other original ceramic processes are permitted. Commercially purchased molds, ceramic blanks, kits, decals used as the primary design element, and mass-produced ware are not permitted.

Craft: Candles: Original handcrafted candles and wax-based products designed and substantially produced by the applying artist are eligible at Spring Daze. Applicants must disclose the wax, fragrance, coloring, molding, pouring, finishing, and decorative processes used. Commercially manufactured finished candles, minimally altered candle blanks, and private-label or wholesale products are not permitted.

Craft: Home and Garden:  Original decorative or functional work intended primarily for home or garden use that is created through an integrated craft process and does not fit more appropriately within Ceramics, Fiber/Leather, Furniture, Glass, Metal, or Wood. Examples may include artist-made wreaths, mixed-material garden art, wind chimes, and transformed found-object work. Commercially manufactured décor, purchased components that are merely assembled, and minimally altered blanks are not permitted.

Craft: Soap & Body: Original handcrafted soap, lotion, bath salts, and similar personal care products formulated and substantially produced by the applying artist. Private-label products, commercially manufactured finished products, wholesale products, and products that are only packaged, labeled, or minimally altered by the applicant are not permitted. Artists are responsible for compliance with all applicable labeling, safety, and regulatory requirements.

Digital Art:  Original two-dimensional artwork created primarily through digital drawing, painting, illustration, collage, or image manipulation. All source material must be created by the artist or used with appropriate permission, license, or public-domain status. Photography should apply in Photography when the artist’s original photograph remains the principal basis of the finished work.

Drawing:  Original two-dimensional works in which drawing is the primary process, including graphite, colored pencil, charcoal, pastel, chalk, crayon, pen and ink, and similar media. Works created primarily with paint should apply in Painting. Hand-pulled prints should apply in Printmaking.

Fiber/Leather:  Original work crafted from fibers, including basketry, batik, embroidery, leatherwork, papermaking, quilting, soft sculpture, tapestry, and weaving. This includes both wearable and decorative art. Work must be substantially designed and constructed or transformed by the artist. Items made primarily from commercial sewing patterns, preassembled kits, commercially embroidered stock products, or minimally altered manufactured garments are not permitted. Commercial findings and closures may be used only as subordinate components.

Furniture:  Original functional or decorative furniture designed and substantially constructed by the artist. Commercially manufactured furniture that has merely been painted, refinished, embellished, or altered is not permitted. Commercial hardware, upholstery materials, and subordinate components are permitted when incorporated into an original artist-designed piece.

Glass:  Original design, functional or decorative glass works that are kiln-formed or have been crafted by glass blowing, molding or casting, or stained glass may apply.  Assemblage glass, windchimes, & mosaics should apply under Craft: Home & Garden.

Jewelry:  Jewelry must be designed and substantially fabricated by the applying artist. Artist-created models, molds, dies, and casting processes are permitted when disclosed. Commercially purchased charms, pendants, cabochons, findings, chains, and beads may be used only as subordinate components and may not constitute the principal artistic content of the work. Simple assembly or stringing of commercially manufactured components is not permitted. Production-studio work is not eligible.

LIVE ARTIST:  Live Art Vendors include things such as face painting, fairy hair, henna, caricatures, and DIY crafts. Permanent Jewelry is not accepted at Spring Daze. Live Art vendors may have insurance requirements depending on their service. See Live Artist prospectus for full details.

Metal:  Original functional, decorative, or sculptural work created primarily from metal, excluding jewelry. Processes may include forging, fabrication, welding, casting, forming, machining, repoussé, plasma cutting, and related metalworking techniques. Digital fabrication is permitted in accordance with the Festival’s Digital Fabrication & 3D Printing policy.

Mixed Media (2D & 3D):  Original 2D or 3D work in which two or more distinct artistic media are intentionally integrated and are essential to the finished work. Examples may include combinations of painting, drawing, collage, fiber, paper, photography, printmaking, found materials, or other media when no single medium adequately describes the work. Applicants should identify the principal materials and explain how they are integrated.

Painting: (two subcategories):

• 2D: Original two-dimensional work created primarily through the application of wet media. Eligible media may include watercolor, acrylic, oil, gouache, encaustic, and similar painting media applied to canvas, board, paper, panel, or another generally flat surface. Reproductions made from the artist’s original paintings are permitted, subject to the Festival’s reproduction requirements.

• 3D: Original artwork in which painting is the dominant artistic process and is applied to an artist-created, found, wearable, or dimensional surface. Examples may include painted rocks, shoes, hats, clothing, artist-made objects, or other dimensional surfaces. Commercially manufactured objects may be used only as a substrate and must be substantially transformed through original painting. Items featuring decals, transfers, purchased designs, stock graphics, or minimal decorative painting are not eligible.

Photography:  Original photographic work in which the applying artist created the source image and exercises creative control over capture and post-processing. Printing may be completed by the artist or by a professional lab under the artist’s direction. Applicants must disclose their photographic, editing, compositing, and printing processes. Works substantially transformed into digital illustration may be more appropriately entered in Digital Art. Limited-edition photographic work must be signed and numbered.

Printmaking:  Original prints created through artist-directed traditional or fine-art printmaking processes. Eligible processes may include: Etching, Engraving, Relief printing, Linoleum block,
printing, Woodcut, Screen printing, Lithography, Monotype, Collagraph, Letterpress, Other
comparable artist-controlled printmaking techniques. Original print editions must be signed and numbered when produced as editions. Applicants must disclose their creative and printmaking process.

Wood: Original work created primarily from wood, excluding furniture and jewelry. Eligible processes may include carving, turning, joinery, hand-tooling, machine-working, marquetry, intarsia, or other woodworking techniques. Wooden toys and puzzles should apply in this category when they are substantially designed and produced by the artist. Digital fabrication is permitted in accordance with the Festival’s Digital Fabrication & 3D Printing policy.

JURY PROCESS
Applicants will be judged by a panel of jurors and scored by media category. The jury consists of a wide array of professional art experiences. Artists with the highest scores within each media category will be admitted. Scores are submitted by using a 1 through 7 scale, omitting 4.  Admissions will be made based on jury score and media category.  Applications submitted without an outdoor booth image are subject to a full point reduction in jury score.

This is a blind jury process which means the identities of artists are not disclosed to jurors.  All artists are presented to the jury without distinction as having been a previous exhibitor.  Please avoid submitting booth images with any identifiable signs or photos of the artist themselves. In addition, any work outside of the medium and context of the 5 images submitted that may appear in the booth shot would not be considered accepted by the jury.  If artists have multiple bodies of work, they need to submit separate applications.

Previous participation in Spring Daze does not guarantee acceptance for this year.
WAITLIST
A waitlist will be created based on jury results and festival needs.

Waitlisted artists may be offered participation when an opening becomes available within their category. Waitlist invitations will be communicated through ZAPPlication and/or email.

Placement on the waitlist does not guarantee acceptance.
 

RULES & REGULATIONS

• Spring Daze is open to all eligible artists who submit a complete application.
• All work exhibited and sold must comply with the requirements of the category in which the artist was accepted.
• Artists may sell only work represented by and consistent with the body of work accepted by the jury.
• Only artists accepted in Jewelry may display or sell jewelry.
• Each accepted artist must be present during the festival and actively participate in the operation of their booth. No representatives or booth subletting are permitted.
• Photo identification may be required at artist check-in.
• A maximum of two non-collaborating artists may share one booth space when approved through the application process.
• No more than three artists may collaborate on a single body of original artwork. All collaborating artists must be identified on the application and must be present at Spring Daze.
• Artists are responsible for providing their own tent, tables, chairs, displays, and other booth equipment.
• Artists must comply with festival staff, public safety personnel, and uniformed security regarding site safety and festival operations.
• Vehicles may be parked only in designated areas.
• Failure to comply with vehicle, load-in, load-out, or safety instructions may affect eligibility for future Cary festivals.
• On-site consumption of alcoholic beverages by exhibiting artists during festival hours is prohibited.
• The Festival reserves the right to determine whether displayed work complies with the accepted application and festival standards.

Artists retain all revenue from the sale of their work. No commission on sales is due to the Spring Daze Arts & Crafts Festival. Artists are responsible for collecting and reporting the North Carolina-Wake County sales tax (7.25%) on any sales. For more information, please visit the North Carolina Department of Revenue web site.

The Festival Committee reserves the right to deny entrance into the festival to any artist whose work is deemed to be inappropriate or to not meet the festival's standards. The Committee also reserves the right to remove from the show (without refund) any exhibit that is not comparable to the submitted images. The work on display must be the same as the images submitted with the application. 

GENERAL ARTWORK ELIGIBILITY
All work exhibited and sold at Spring Daze must be original artwork designed and substantially produced by the accepted artist. The artist must retain meaningful creative control over the design and production of the work.

Unless a category specifically permits it, the following work is not eligible:

• Wholesale merchandise or commercially manufactured finished products
• Work produced primarily from commercial kits
• Commercial patterns or templates used as the principal artistic content
• Commercially manufactured objects that have received only minimal alteration
• Production studio work substantially manufactured by undisclosed employees, contractors, or third parties
• Unauthorized reproductions of copyrighted or trademarked characters, logos, photographs, artwork, or other intellectual property
• Artwork generated wholly or substantially through generative artificial intelligence
• Work materially different from the work represented in the accepted jury images

Festival staff may request information about an artist's production process before or during the festival.

DIGITAL FABRICATION AND 3D PRINTING
Digital fabrication tools, including CNC machines, laser cutters, plasma cutters, 3D printers, and similar equipment, may be used as part of an artist’s creative process when the artist creates the original design and remains substantially involved in production, fabrication, assembly, and finishing.

Purchased design files, stock models, commercially available templates used as the primary design, and automated production involving minimal artist participation are not permitted.

Artists using digital fabrication must disclose the process in the Artist Process Statement.

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
Artwork generated wholly or substantially through generative artificial intelligence is not eligible for application, exhibition, or sale in any Spring Daze Artist category.

AI-generated imagery, designs, patterns, compositions, or other generated creative content may not form the primary visual or structural basis of submitted or exhibited work.

Standard digital tools used for functions such as exposure correction, sharpening, noise reduction, color adjustment, image cleanup, file preparation, or other conventional editing processes are permitted.

Artists must disclose any material use of generative artificial intelligence within their artistic process.

ORIGINALS, EDITIONS, REPRODUCTIONS, AND MERCHANDISE
Original artwork must remain the principal focus of an artist’s booth.

For purposes of this prospectus, a reproduction is a mechanically or digitally reproduced copy of an original artwork. Reproductions must be clearly identified as reproductions and may not be represented as original works.

Except for media categories in which the accepted finished work is inherently produced through digital or photographic printing processes, reproductions may not exceed 50% of the artwork visibly displayed within the booth.

Original works created through accepted Printmaking processes are not considered reproductions and therefore do not count toward reproduction limits. Mechanically or digitally produced copies of original printmaking work are considered reproductions and are subject to the applicable limits.

Limited-edition work must be signed and numbered, with the edition size disclosed.
When printing is completed by a professional printer or production provider, the artist must retain creative control over the final product and disclose the printing process in the application.

ARTIST-PRODUCED MERCHANDISE
Artist-produced merchandise featuring the artist’s own original artwork may be offered for sale but may not exceed 20% of the total visible booth display.

Examples may include greeting cards, stickers, calendars, apparel, mugs, magnets, puzzles, or similar items featuring the artist’s own original artwork or designs.

Commercially sourced merchandise that does not feature the artist’s original work, wholesale merchandise, buy/sell products, and unrelated retail goods are not permitted.

Reproductions and artist-produced merchandise combined may not exceed 50% of the total visible booth display, and artist-produced merchandise alone may not exceed 20%.

INELIGIBLE PRODUCTS


The following are not accepted through this application:

• Consumable food or beverages
• Pre-packaged food or beverages
• Commercially manufactured merchandise that does not meet the Artist-Produced Merchandise requirements
• Buy/sell or wholesale products
• Promotional or commercial business exhibits

Applicants who are uncertain about the eligibility of their work should contact festival staff prior to submitting an application.

BOOTH INFORMATION
Booth spaces are assigned in the following order of priority:

1. Best of NC Award Winner from previous Lazy Daze.
2. Returning artists wanting the same space as the previous calendar year.
3. Returning artists from previous calendar year wanting to move.
4. New artists and returning artists that did not show in previous calendar year.
5. Artists admitted from the waitlist.

Booth Information
$30 Application/Jury fee for all applications (Additional $20 Late fee)
$110 per 10 x 10 single booth space for Cary, NC residents
$220 per 10 x 20 double booth space for Cary, NC residents
$140 per 10 x 10 single booth space for non-Cary, NC residents
$280 per 10 x 20 double booth space for non-Cary, NC residents
$70 per space for all shared 10x10 booth spaces
$25 additional for a corner space (based on availability)

** Electricity is not provided; gas generators are not permitted

Each booth is 10 ft. wide x 10 ft. deep. Artists must provide all tents, tables and necessary display equipment and should bring adequate overhead sun/moisture protection and come prepared with materials for leveling tables and displays. Tents must be secured with a minimum of 40 pounds per corner. No staking is permitted. There is a maximum of two (2) adjoining spaces per exhibitor.

Booth assignments are at the sole discretion of the festival and are not interchangeable.  Spring Daze will attempt to honor specific location requests but can make no guarantees.  Corner spaces may be requested but are assigned solely on the basis of availability and at the discretion of the festival.

REFUNDS
Refund Policy for Artists and Vendors – Cary Art Daze Festivals

Cancellation by Vendor or Artist:
If the vendor or artist needs to cancel their participation in any Cary Art Daze festival, they must notify the event organizers in writing as soon as possible at caryartdaze@carync.gov. If refunds are approved, they will be processed within 30 days of receiving written notice of cancellation from the artist or vendor. Refunds will be issued via the original payment method used for the booth fee or by check as determined by event organizers. Refunds for booth fees will be processed according to the following schedule:

- Application Fees – Non-refundable
- Cancellation at least 30 days prior to event – Full refund of booth fee.
- Cancellation less than 30 days prior to event – No refund of booth fee*
- Additional purchases (Lunches, t-shirts, etc.) - Non-refundable

No Show Policy:
If a vendor or artist does not show up for the event without prior notification to the event organizers, they will forfeit their booth fee and are ineligible for a refund.

Medical / Emergency Exemption Policy:
If a vendor needs to cancel their participation in a Cary Art Daze festival due to a medical emergency, they may be eligible for a full or partial refund of their booth fees. To be considered for a refund, the vendor or artist must provide documentation stating the reason why they are unable to participate in the event. Refunds will be processed on case-by-case basis and the event organizers reserve the right to request additional documentation. Participants requesting a medical or emergency exemption should submit their refund request via email to caryartdaze@carync.gov.

Ineligible Vendors:
If a vendor is deemed ineligible for participation in a Cary Art Daze festival (by the event organizers), fees will be refunded at the discretion of the Festival and Events Supervisor. Application fees are non-refundable.

Accidental / Duplicate Purchases:
Accidental purchases, overcharges, duplicate booth charges, etc. should request a refund via email to caryartdaze@carync.gov prior to the refund deadline. Fees will be refunded at the discretion of the Festival and Events Supervisor and the Cary Festivals Committee.