Art & Apples Festival 2027

Rochester, Michigan

Application Fee : $49

Contact Information

Paint Creek Center for the Arts

Contact Email: catherine@pccart.org

Contact Phone: 248-651-4110

Requirement Overview

Eligible Applicant Types: Artist
Submission Limit: 2

Media Requirements

Images | Min: 4, Max: 4
Total | Max: 4

Opportunity Summary

The Art & Apples Festival is a juried fine art festival, featuring 250+ top quality, national exhibitors, with an estimated attendance of 50,000 for the weekend. The Art & Apples Festival is held annually the Friday, Saturday and Sunday following Labor Day in the scenic 30-acre Rochester Municipal Park located in downtown Rochester, Michigan.

History: For nearly 60 years, the Art & Apples Festival has transformed a picturesque community park into one of the nation’s top fine art festivals. Named one of the Top 10 (#9) Fine Art & Design Festivals of the Decade (2010-2020) by Sunshine Artist Magazine, the Art & Apples Festival® consistently ranks in the publication’s Top 50 for the category year after year. In 1982, Paint Creek Center for the Arts (PCCA) was established by local artists responsible for the earliest years of the festival’s organization. The festival serves as PCCA’s annual fundraiser, providing approximately 60% of PCCA’s yearly operational budget, and funding the following programs: creative art classes, workshops, and camps for all ages; free art exhibitions promoting SE Michigan artists; outreach, pop-up and community engagement events; a year-round Michigan-made Art Market and seasonal Holiday Market; as well as employment and sale opportunities for local professional artists throughout the year.

General Information

2027 Festival Dates & Hours
Friday, September 10^th, 2027: 2 pm – 7 pm
Saturday, September 11^th, 2027: 10 am – 7 pm
Sunday, September 12^th, 2027: 10 am – 4 pm

Application Fee: $49.00

Application fees are non-refundable. Only artwork consistent with an accepted application’s sample work may be shown during the festival. Artists who bring artwork outside of what was reasonably accepted during the online jury period may risk their eligibility for future years of Art & Apples Festivals® as it creates imbalance in the work available for sale at the festival.

Artist Amenities:

24-Hour Security – the Rochester Municipal Park is adjacent to Rochester Police Department and is actively patrolled and monitored during the festival weekend. PCCA hires additional security for the event to ensure a safe environment for all involved.
Free Artist Reception Dinner on Thursday evening, prior to Festival start. Meet and mingle with your fellow exhibiting artists and enjoy a meal on us! Our thanks for joining us for the Art & Apples Festival®.
Free daily continental breakfast each morning prior to festival start time. Free coffee available Saturday & Sunday.
Artist Hospitality Tent. Free snacks and bottled water are available for every artist exhibiting with us during the weekend. As available, volunteers are scheduled to deliver directly to artists in their booth.
Volunteer booth sitters during festival hours, as available.
Artist-only porta-potties, cleaned nightly.
Electrical access in select sections.
Professional PR firm hired each year to promote and publicize in preparation of and throughout the festival. Please see PCCA’s website for a comprehensive list of all advertisements prior to the festival.
Ability to drive into the park and unload/restock/load up next to booth space before and after Festival hours.
Free shuttle service to and from the festival (all day Saturday and Sunday only) from the Rochester High School parking lot. Shuttle runs, but is not publicly advertised, one half hour before and after Festival hours for artist convenience.
Designated Artist Liaison on-site throughout duration of Festival to answer questions and assist as available. Day-of contact information provided in welcome emails, festival packet and on back of Artist Lanyard.

Who Can Participate?
Artists creating original fine art in the below mediums are invited to apply. Production/fabrication groups or teams, buy-sell, wholesale and MLM vendors should not apply to the Art & Apples Festival® as they are not accepted.

Paint Creek Center for the Arts reserves the right to re-categorize an artist's submission with the artists best interest in mind. Every attempt will be made to notify the artist if this is done.

Accepted Fine Art Mediums & Category Descriptions:
Please note: regardless of medium, if you are an artist exhibiting jewelry, you must apply under one of the two jewelry categories. Jewelry is not accepted in any of the other fourteen categories.

2D Mixed Media: Two-dimensional work which combines materials from two or more mediums in one piece.
3D Mixed Media: Three-dimensional work which combines materials from two or more mediums in one piece. Three-dimensional work is defined as work that has more than one intended viewable surface.
Ceramic: Original clay and porcelain work, functional or sculptural in nature.
Digital Art: Original work created using computer programs to significantly manipulate or alter source material(s) such as scans or digital files, or the creation of original artwork such as drawings or paintings made using software, computers, or other electronic devices.
Drawing: Work created using dry media including chalk, charcoal, pastels, pencil, wax, crayons, etc. or from a fluid medium of inks and washes applied by pen/brush.
Fibers (non-wearable): Work crafted from fibers including basketry, embroidery, weaving, leatherwork, tapestry, and papermaking. No machine-tooled, machine-screened patterns or other forms of mass production are permitted. No factory produced or mass production items, regardless of additional modification or enhancement by the artist are permitted.
Fibers (wearable): Work crafted from fibers including embroidery, weaving, knitting, sewing, and wearable art. No machine-tooled, machine-screened patterns or other forms of mass production are permitted. No factory produced or mass-produced items, regardless of additional modification or enhancement by the artist are permitted.
Glass: Functional and sculptural work is accepted. Kiln forming, blowing, molding, or casting, as well as all cold working processes are permitted.
Jewelry (metal): Jewelry hand crafted strictly from metals. No production studio work is allowed. Only those artists who jury and are accepted in the jewelry category may sell jewelry.
Jewelry (non-metal): Jewelry hand crafted from semi-precious stones, clay, polymer clay, glass, fiber, paper, pebbles, glass, wood, lab created gems, found objects, etc. No production studio work is allowed. Only those artists who jury and are accepted in the jewelry category may sell jewelry.
Metalsmithing: Sculptural or decorative work made from metal. No jewelry will be accepted in this category.
Painting: Acrylic, oil, gouache, and watercolor paintings are accepted in this medium.
Photography: Original images created/taken by the artist, both from film and original digital formats. They must be printed by the artist or under the artist's direct supervision. Photo collage and painting on photographs, which are traditional photographic processes, need to be in this category. Prints should be properly signed and numbered as a limited edition of no more than 250. Whether the work is produced in a traditional wet darkroom or via digital processes, only "traditional" correction methods may be utilized. Work produced over and above traditional methods should apply in the Digital category. Please call should you have any questions as to which category is appropriate for your work. Photographers are required to disclose both their creative and printing processes. Work must be signed, using only archival quality materials. In all cases, the work must be produced by the exhibiting artist, and by no one else.
Printmaking: Printed original works which are hand manipulated by using etching, engraving, silk-screening, stone and plate lithography, linoleum block or woodcut, etc.. All works should be properly signed and numbered as a limited edition of 250.
Sculpture: Three-dimensional work using additive or subtractive processes in a single medium.
Wood: Original works that are hand tooled, machine-worked, turned, or carved. Laser-engraved wood art work must be orignial in its design and may not be a purchased license or otherwise not originate from the artist.

How Are Artists Accepted?
There are roughly 305 booths available in the Art & Apples Festival each year. To evenly fill the booths in each section, depending on the number of applications we receive in each category, an average of 18 artists from each category will be accepted into the Art & Apples Festival. This number will be comprised of jury exempt artists from the previous festival year and applicants from the current year who receive a high jury score during the online jury process. An additional group of artists in each category will be placed on the waitlist, as determined by their online jury score, and may be called for participation up to one week before the event. Applying artists whose scores disqualify them from both the initial acceptance round and waitlist will not be invited to participate in the festival. Artists who do not apply and do not receive a jury score are not eligible to participate in the Art & Apples Festival®.

What Does the Jury Process Entail?

How to begin: Artists, when applying, are required to submit three (3) artwork photos and one (1) booth photo to represent their for and the general display they plan on recreating for the Art & Apples Festival®. Please note: booth photos must be as accurate as possible in the display/content of the artwork to be sold at the Festival. Any significal or egrigious deivations, alterations, or additions (as determined by festival staff) to a display not depicted in the juried booth photo submitted via application may disqualify an artist on-site at any time during the Festival.
Jurying is anonymous! You must remove any words or images that may allow jurors to identify yourself as the artist from the images and artist statements in your application. This includes artist name, booth banners and signage with name, logo and/or legible signatures, oversized watermarks on submitted images and information in artist statements. Any identifying words or images will be disqualified from viewing by the jurists.
Applicants are judged by guest jurors including the Art & Apples Festival® Committee, PCCA staff, faculty, board members, and outside credible jurists. Jurors are selected for their experience and expertise in a specific media and understanding of other media. A diverse background and skills are sought, including practicing artists and educators, collectors, gallery owners and art enthusiasts.
Artists are scored against others in their category only, with appearance order displayed randomly by ZAPP ID number.
Scoring is 1 (low) to 7 (high), based on originality, creativity, design, technique, craftsmanship, and production methodology. Artists who do not receive a minimum score of 3.5 will not typically receive an invitation to the festival.
Jury scores are calculated into an average. The final score determines an artist’s invitation to participate in the festival, wait list status, or rejection.
No artist is guaranteed acceptance into the Art & Apples Festival®, regardless of previous participation.

How do Jurors Score Applications?

1. Preview: all images from an individual applicant, including the three submitted artwork images and the single booth image are reviewed together and considered.
2. Initial scoring: Each artist is then scored independently against the other artists in their medium category. The artist’s images are displayed first as a whole and then viewed one by one for judging, with artists' statements available simultaneously. A score is then awarded after all images have been viewed and the statement read.
3. Scores: The final scores are tallied, and highest scoring artists selected for acceptance in each category. All lists for participation (invited, wait list, and not invited) are created based on final and calculated average jury scores.

Jury Exempt Artists
If you are an artist who participated in the 2026 Art & Apples Festival® and have recieved a notice (traditionally via email) that you are Jury Exempt, you are automatically invited to participate in the 2027 Art & Apples Festival®. You must complete a FREE application prior to the March 31st deadline so that you can purchase your booth through Zapplication. Beyond paying an unnecessary application fee, Jury Exempt artists who fail to use their FREE APP code to waive the application fee risk being included in the new applicant pool for re-jury.

You must purchase a booth to be considered as participating in the 2027 Art & Apples Festival®. Applications and booth payments will only be accepted digitally via Zapp and should not be submitted by any other means, unless otherwise authorized by your artist liaison.

Jury Exempt Artists are able to purchase their booths early. The number of applications accepted for the current festival year is determined by the number of Jury Exempt artists who purchase their booth and confirm their participation by early April. Jury exempt artists will not be able to purchase their booths while PCCA conducts the online jury for new applicants. Once general acceptance is announced, booth purchases and upgrades will be offered on a first-come, first served basis. Booth requests will also be honored on a first-come, first-served basis only after booth payment has been made. Please request booth numbers based off the 2026 Art & Apples Festival Map, which can be found on our website at pccart.org, and keep in mind that booth numbers may vary slightly in 2027. PCCA will do thier best to honor requests, but cannot guarantee that any artist will be placed in their requested booth.

On-Site Awards:
During the Art & Apples Festival®, artist’s work will be evaluated by an on-site jury for cash prizes and jury exempt status for the next festival year. The top scoring artists will receive cash prizes based on design, execution, and aesthetic appeal of the work, as well as booth presentation. Up to one third of the highest scoring artists will be invited to participate in the 2028 Art & Apples Festival® as Jury Exempt Artists.

Cash Prizes:
1x Best in Show Award: $1,500
4x Awards of Excellence: $500 each

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PLEASE NOTE: During their specified year, artists in the categories listed below will be ineligible to receive a Jury Exempt invitation. On-site jurors will only re-invite artists who are outside of these re-juried categories. All categories are up for re-jurying over the four-year cycle, and no artist can receive Jury Exempt status more than three years in a row.

Ineligible for 2028 Festival: Participating 2027 Artists in these categories will not be able to receive Jury Exempt status for the 2028 Festival

Painting
Jewelry (Metal)
Ceramic
Digital Art
Printmaking

Ineligible for 2029 Festival: Participating 2028 Artists in these categories will not be able to receive Jury Exempt status for the 2029 Festival

Sculpture
Glass
2D Mixed Media

Ineligible for 2030 Festival: Participating 2029 Artists in these categories will not be able to receive Jury Exempt status for the 2030 Festival

Fibers (Wearable)
Fibers (Non-wearable)
Wood
Drawing

Ineligible for 2031 Festival: Participating 2026 Artists in these categories will not be able to receive Jury Exempt status for the 2027 Festival

3D Mixed Media
Photography
Jewelry (Non-Metal)
Metalsmithing

Application Requirements

Rules for Participation:
(Any violation of these rules will result in an immediate removal from consideration at any point, including after notification of acceptance or on-site during the Art & Apples Festival®)

The artist(s) named on the application must be present at check-in and with his/her work for the duration of the festival. A picture I.D. is required to receive welcome packet with booth sign, lanyard, and other on-site set up materials. Do not send representatives on your behalf.
All work must be designed and made by the accepted artist(s). Commercially cast jewelry, molds and imported or commercially made products (including fiber/wearables); or work completed by a production studio are NOT ACCEPTABLE. Artwork made by anyone other than the juried participating artist assigned to that booth is not acceptable. Buy-sell, wholesale artwork & MLM products are prohibited. Any work made using or displaying generative A.I. is prohibited.
Artists are allowed to sell reproductions of their own original work in limited, signed, and numbered editions (no more than 250), but reproductions cannot represent the majority of work in the booth.
Artists may only exhibit and sell work in the category they received a jury score and were accepted within. Only artists accepted in the jewelry categories may display and sell jewelry, only those accepted into fibers (wearable) may sell clothing, etc. Those who display and/or sell work outside of this category during the festival risk their consideration for future years of Art & Apples Festivals®.
Unless otherwise notified, artists are allowed one Single Booth only! Double booths are available in each category for those artists that received Jury Exempt status or were the highest scoring from the online jury of their own category. Notifications of double booth availability will be sent by email to eligible artists, and will be provided on a first-come, first-served basis. Artists who purchase multiple single booths in an attempt to obtain a double booth may be declined without refund.
Collaborating artists may apply jointly on one application; however, the primary artist(s) of application MUST be present at check-in and for the duration of the festival. (The primary artist is defined as the person(s) whose name is listed as “ARTIST:” on the application.
Each artist is responsible for the collection and payment of the 6% Michigan sales tax. PCCA provides a Michigan Concessionaire’s form for the current year in every welcome packet.
All artists must be 18 years of age or older.
These rules are subject to change at any time with or without notice at the sole discretion of Paint Creek Center for the Arts.

Jury Details

Average number of applications submitted each year

500

Average number of artists selected from the jury to participate in the event

250

Average number of exempt from jury artists who are invited to participate in the event

Booth Information

Booths, Corner Upgrades & Electric:

THE DEADLINE TO PURCHASE YOUR BOOTH IS JULY 21, 2027.
Artists are responsible for providing whatever tools and supplies they will need to operate their own business for the weekend. This includes artist’s own tent, display units, weights, and weather protection. Fees below provide the listed amount of space within the park, guaranteed, for the duration of the festival.

SINGLE BOOTH: A single booth space measures 11’ x 11’ with 4’ of storage in back (11' x 15' total). Single Booths are $525. PCCA cannot honor purchases of 2 Single booths as a Double booth. Do not purchase 2 Single booths in an attempt to purchase a Double, it will not be honored.
DOUBLE BOOTH: A double booth space measures 22’ x 11’ with 4’ of storage in the back (22' x 15' total). Double booths are available to Jury Exempt artists and then to the highest scoring artists in each category, if they are available. Double booths are $1,000. There is no guarantee that any artist will receive a double booth. Artists will be contacted directly if they are eligible to purchase a Double Booth with instructions on how to purchase. PCCA cannot honor purchases of 2 Single booths as a Double booth. PLEASE do not purchase 2 Single booths in an attempt to purchase a double.
CORNER BOOTHS: Corners are upgrades to the above Single or Double booths only and MUST be purchased in addition to a Single or Double Booth. To eliminate confusion regarding the several types of corner booths available during the Art & Apples Festival® please review the following information. Please be sure you are adding the correct type of corner to your cart when you purchase your booth. Festival staff will not be able to facilitate a booth relocation once the festival has started.
1. Outside Corner: Open front and one side facing main walkway or aisle. Highest visibility in row. Outside corners are $200 + your Single/Double booth purchase.
2. Inside Corner: Open front and one side facing secondary walkway or aisle. Inside corners are $150 + your Single/Double booth purchase.
Artwork, furniture, and displays must remain in the allotted booth space. Artists who choose to block walkways or vehicle routes, or other artist display areas, risk having their work damaged or lost. Please do not abuse the open space available in the park. PCCA should not need to intervene and request artwork, furniture and displays to be moved.
Electricity is available in limited locations. Booth placements will be made to accommodate requests on a first-come, first-served basis. Generators are not allowed.
Booth fees should only be made through ZAPPlication.org if accepted before July 21, 2027, unless otherwise authorized by your artist liaison.

Have a question about booth locations? Call PCCA at 248-651-4110 PRIOR to purchasing your booth!

Electricity:
Electricity is available in limited locations only. Electricity is only available in the Lower Section for booths 119-149, and for Upper Section booths 17-9. Please keep these restrictions in mind when listing your booth requests and purchasing electric.

Load In:
Please note the letter (“U”, “L”, or "P") before your booth number. This denotes your booth section. “U” is for “Upper Section”, “L” is for “Lower Section”, and "P" is for "Pathway Section". Sections are determined by their position on either side of the Paint Creek in addition to their location within the park. There are two on-site check-in addresses that will have general information in addition to set-up information for artists assigned to the adjacent section(s). One location is assigned to the Upper Section artists north of the Paint Creek and one location for the Lower and Pathway Sections to the south of the Pain Creek.

Load-In is monitored by PCCA staff, hired security and volunteers to ensure the safest possible experience for vendors and Rochester residents making use of the park during set-up. Vehicle traffic is limited to One Way, and artists should look for directional signage as they navigate the park.

Thursday: Artists will be provided with a suggested load in time for Thursday, September 9^th, based on their location in the festival. PCCA staggers load-in times for Thursday in an attempt to limit the number of vehicles parked down any individual row, vehicles driving through the park on pathways (remember: this is a public park and patrons may not be aware of festival set-up), and to reduce the need to cart work long distances between artist booths and their vehicle.

Friday: Load-in will begin as early as 9 am on Friday and is not assigned. Beginning at noon, vehicles will not be permitted to drive into the park. Vehicles may remain in the park as long as needed until 1 pm. All vehicles must be out of the park by 1 pm for festival start time of 2 pm.

Load Out:
Artists should stop selling at 4 pm on Sunday. Paint Creek Center for the Arts defers to Rochester Police Department to begin our load-out process. RPD will announce “all clear” once festival patron foot traffic has decreased to a level adequate to allow safe vehicle re-entry to the park. Artists will be provided with a vehicle pass to enter the park when PCCA staff finds their booth to be significantly disassembled. Special exemptions may be made for artists with disabilities. All vendor sections (Upper, Lower, Pathway, Food, Sponsor, Demonstration) will be utilizing the same limited vehicle access points into and out of the park - delays should be expected in all sections.

Refund Policy

Refund Schedule:

On or before May 31, 2027:
100% of applicable Art & Apples Festival^® booth, corner, and electricity fees paid will be refunded MINUS a $50 processing fee in the event of withdrawal.

June 1 through June 30, 2027:
50% of applicable Art & Apples Festival^® for booth, corner, and electricity will be refunded in the event of withdrawal.

Beginning July 1, 2027:
No fees will be refunded as of this date.

Should a partial refund be required due to artist error (i.e.: multiple purchase of single or corner booth, or electricity) a $50 administrative fee may be withheld. Please review your cart before submitting your payment. Please reach out to your artist liaison, Catherine, by email (Catherine@pccart.org) with any questions or concerns.

How to Withdraw:
Artists withdrawing their participation in the Art & Apples Festival® MUST follow the procedure below:

Please note the refund calendar above. The date that you email will be the date you are listed as withdrawn.
Email Catherine@pccart.org to notify PCCA of your cancellation stating with your application ID number. This is especially important if your application only lists a business name, you have multiple email addresses, and/or a co-artist or spouse withdraws on your behalf.
Artists who withdraw within 14 days of the festival, or fail to appear without notice, may not be considered for the following year.

Additional Fees

Double Booth (20 ft W x 10 ft D, 4 ft storage behind): $1,000

Lower Section Single Booth (only purchase one): $525

Pathway Section Single Booth: $525

Upper Section Single Booth (only purchase one): $525

Electric (Upper or Lower Sect.): $60

Pathway Section Outside Corner (main walkway): $200

Lower Section Outside Corner (main walkway): $200

Upper Section Outside Corner (main walkway): $200

Pathway Section Inside Corner (front & 1 side open): $150

Lower Section Inside Corner (front & 1 side open): $150

Upper Section Inside Corner (front & 1 side open): $150