1928
Rittenhouse Square Fine Art Show, Philadelphia
1930
Nantucket Sidewalk Art Show
1931
Washington Square Outdoor Art Exhibit, New York
1932
Plaza Art Fair, Kansas City, Missouri
1947
Bellevue Arts Museum ARTSfair, Washington
1948
57th Street Art Fair, Chicago
1948
Greenwich Village Art Fair, Rockford, Illinois
1949
Salem Art Fair & Festival, Oregon
1950
Old Town Art Fair, Chicago
1951
Beaux Arts Festival of Art, Coral Gables, Florida
1951
Kalamazoo Institute of Arts Art Fair, Michigan
1952
Sausalito Art Festival, California
1956
St. James Court Art Show, Louisville, Kentucky
1958
Boardwalk Art Show, Virginia Beach, Virginia
1958
Des Moines Arts Festival, Iowa
1960
Winter Park Sidewalk Art Festival, Florida
1960
Ann Arbor Street Art Fair-The Original, Michigan
1961
KRASL Art Fair, St. Joseph Michigan
Originally the St. Joseph Art Fair
1962
Springfield Old Capitol Art Fair, Illinois
1962
Lakefront Festival of Art, Milwaukee
1963
Coconut Grove Arts Festival, Florida
1966
Northeast Craft Council Show, Stowe, Vermont
1960s
Interstate Highway System
Started in 1956 but its impact on art fairs didn’t begin until later decades.
1981
Cain Park Arts Festival, Cleveland Heights, Ohio
1980s
Artists begin to use credit card processing.
1980s
KD Kanopy is developed.
This scissor-action canopy became widely used, followed closely by the more durable Newton Port-a-Booth (later renamed Craft Hut)
1991
Cherry Creek Arts Festival, Denver
1993
Saint Louis Art Fair, Missouri
1995
National Association of Independent Artists
The first organization to represent exhibitors’ interests.
1995
The influence of the internet starts to be felt throughout the industry.
2000
Juried Art Services
The first digital commercial jurying system using the internet.
2004
Zapp
The second digital national jurying system is developed under the auspices of the Western States Arts Federation (WESTAF).