This was the third year Atlanta Pride hosted their Artist Market and my third time vending! It’s been interesting to watch both of us grow along side each other. As always, the crowd of Atlanta Pride were stellar as ever! In our political climate it’s important to have spaces where we can celebrate who we are. That said, I have critiques for how the Artist Market was run this year, let’s get into it!
Applications
As usual, Artist Market applications opened up in May on Atlanta Pride’s Eventeny page, after the Main Marketplace applications. They required a non-refundable application fee around $25. After a small kerfuffle of phone tag, I received my approval in late July, paid my booth fee and picked my spot! So, if you ever plan to apply to Atlanta Pride’s Artist Market, do know they historically communicate through phones.
The booth price did increase from about $258 to $319, not counting the $25 application fee. Then, for the first time, Atlanta Pride also asked us to provide proof of liability insurance. We could either email them proof of insurance if we had our own, or purchase some at their recommended insurance for $65. So in total, Atlanta Pride Artist Market 2025 came to $409 before parking and food.
Overall, communication with Atlanta Pride was frustrating this year. I can understand their preference for phone calls, however the information on Eventeny and in their emails were inconsistent. For example, Artist Market vendors were told we’d be included in their orientation meeting for the parade and marketplace, we were even given the date. But as that day came closer, no further instructions on how to attend the meeting were ever forwarded to us. I had directly messaged Atlanta Pride on Eventeny to ask how to attend this meeting, only to be told the day after that it was okay, the Artist Market vendors weren’t expected to come. We were also asked to print and sign a waiver and release form, but I was never asked to present it the entire weekend.
For me though, the two most frustrating points were the Artist Market’s hours of operation and the changes to our tent layout. I’ll get to both of these points more later. With the increase in table fees this year, I was just not pleased with how communication was handled.
Saturday
I’ll admit I was stressed coming into Atlanta Pride, unexpected expenses came up early October and I was hoping my revenue could help cover them. Atlanta Pride was my best show of 2024 so it was the tent pole of my 2025 business plan. In the end, sales were good but lower than last year’s, which is unfortunate TTvTT Perhaps I had set myself up, my eggs in one basket and all.
I arrived at the SAGE Parking Garage through the Piedmont entrance nice and early, about 7:30 AM on Saturday. Part of it was that I woke up early from nerves, haha, but especially nervous about that midtown parking! I’m happy to report there were plenty of spots to choose from, even when I arrived a little later on Sunday around 8:30 AM. It cost $35 for the day without in-or-out privileges, but for me that shorter distance to the Artist Market is well worth it. I spoke to one of my friends who had a Marketplace booth who said she arrived around 10 AM and there were still spots, but we both agreed as a vendor that is probably the latest it’d be safe to show up.
My setup has also grown a lot over the past year, so I wasn’t sure how I would condense into one wagon trip across Piedmont, but we made it work! I didn’t bother with an extra table, since I hadn’t originally snagged a corner spot. Perhaps, I was most nervous about gauging the amount of shirts to bring. Thankfully, since I did arrive so early it meant I could take my time. The cool brisk autumn air felt nice as I hauled my stuff.
I was one of the first artists to arrive on Saturday morning, and as I approached the tent it became clear… our layout had changed drastically! We were warned that our tent may be a little different since Piedmont Park planted new trees in our old spot, but we were never shown the final layout. Now instead of running parallel to the walkway, our tent ran perpendicular instead, which made it a sort of bridge between two walkways. And thus… a very different table map than what was originally presented to us.
Now, I was fairly lucky that my spot, which was supposed to be in the front row facing the entrance, became a corner spot just before the entrance in this new layout. Eventually, as more artists came in, it was clear those who did plan on having corners brought bigger setups and were stuck in the middle areas, oh no! So, I did end up pulling my own table more towards the entrance, perhaps a good four feet, to allow for the middle artists to spread out some. I think overall, everyone was able to deal with the last minute change, but I’m sure all of us would’ve appreciated a heads up so we could be better prepared!!
Another problem of the new tent orientation… since the entrances were smaller they also let in much less light. It was very dark under there even with the fairy lights running along the tent walls. I hadn’t brought my lights on Saturday because last year they proved ineffective when light, but damn! I even started packing up early on Saturday as dusk hit because it just was so hard to see I really didn’t think I’d lose sales by packing up before 7 PM.
I kept my Atlanta Pride table fairly simple, wanting to stick to what worked last year, but I did still get to do a couple experiments. I ran out of business cards before Atlanta Pride, so I relied on my QR code for people to follow my socials when they asked for cards. I think it worked well though because I noticed the most follows on Instagram after an event, plus it helps reduce paper waste. I also put my zines with my print stand. This would help condense my setup a little since I usually had to put doubles of one print design anyway since I only have 5 at the moment. I think this new placement helped bring more attention to the zines as well.
By the end of Saturday, it was clear I wouldn’t hit last year’s numbers and I was bummed. After speaking to a few of the other returning artists, it seemed for many of us Saturday’s sales were down from 2024. Personally, I couldn’t think of an obvious reason for why that was. Our location had been scooted further from the main path, but I didn’t observe a decline in traffic that would’ve matched my dip in sales. On Sunday, I did hear a few comments like, “I had no idea y’all were here,” but I think Atlanta Pride did make an effort with multiple sandwich boards and banners pointing us out.
This was also when it became clear there was confusion about the Artist Market’s official start time for Sunday. While the sandwich board said 3 PM, not only was that much later than the main market’s start time of 10 AM, but artists had also heard start times of 11 and 12 PM. Several of us decided we’d show up early and see what happens. Especially with the parade on Sunday, it only made sense to try and beat the crowd for parking. And 3 PM would be way too late for that =w=;;
We also had a discussion on whether or not to leave behind things at our tables. While the last couple of years I made a point to pack up everything, I was peer pressured into leaving behind some of my display items. Atlanta Pride does hire some security to patrol the park, but leave at your own risk!
All of Saturday, I’d only seen Atlanta Pride volunteers once. After opening when most of us were done setting up, a couple of them in red shirts came by with a clipboard to check us in. And I suppose at some point, a volunteer must’ve come by to correct our sandwich board. It had the incorrect start time of 1 PM for Saturday instead of 11 AM >w<;;; Just a big drop of their presence from the last couple years.
Sunday in the Park with George
I arrived about an hour later to Piedmont Park than on Saturday, but still had many parking spots to choose from! With parking secured, I made my way back to the Artist Market tent without hurry. I stopped by Henri’s Bakery and Deli for a chai latte and bagel with cream cheese. Then I took a short stroll to see some of the main marketplace, before 10 AM most of the other vendors seemed to be sleepy and slowly getting ready for Sunday as well.
By the time I got back to our tent, a few of the other artists arrived early as well and it gave us time to chit chat and check out each others work. Nicholas Twine, twiner.co, even gave me a free print of a Cyber Truck on fire!!! I shall cherish it forever.
Soon though we got back to work, while there wasn’t a bustle of people there were enough curious passerby that we didn’t want to miss our opportunity to make sales. Before 1 PM it was pretty slow, which makes sense as most people were probably lining up to watch the parade. However, I still made enough that I wouldn’t consider Sunday morning a waste of time, especially to avoid parade traffic.
After 2 PM that’s when traffic to our tent really got busy! And pretty much stayed that way until things wound down around 6 PM. I was pleasantly surprised that despite Saturday, this Sunday was my best performing of all three Atlanta Pride Artist Markets. I guess it really goes to show you can’t expect past patterns to always dictate the future.
Eventually, it was time to pack up and I was able to go through tear down without much trouble. It helps that load-out is generally lighter than load-in after all the sales! Again, I didn’t utilize Atlanta Pride’s golf cart service for their vendors and just wagoned all my things back to my car in one trip. It was just about dusk though, so be mindful of golf carts if you’re in Piedmont Park during load-out.
Closing Thoughts
Naturally, my best performing items at Atlanta Pride were well, Pride themed. This includes my pride pythons, both as stickers and buttons, my You-Gay-Ho stickers, Can’t Pray Away This Gay art print. But, also anti-work items did well too, such as Rest Ain’t Scary art print, and my Bite the Boot sticker. And perhaps I shouldn’t have been surprised, but my zines also got a lot of attention, I even had to restock between days. Some of that probably could be that I’ve finally found a good spot for them on my table, but I think Pride events tend to be more political. Thus, perhaps more people are ready to talk about elections and calling your representatives.
I’d say most of the people who showed up to browse are market were teenage to young adults, with a few middle-aged and elderly folks. There were some families, but I felt like there were less children than before? Maybe the nearby playground was more enticing that an Artist Market tent. I got to see a few friends and returning customers who were happy to find me again.
Halloween candy wise, I went through two bags Hi-Chew, 62 pieces each, over the weekend. Lots of origami snakes were able to find homes as well! People were excited to find the Hi-Chew in my cauldron, guess I wasn’t the only one to learn they came in Halloween sizes. I was a little surprised at how much adults can find joy in candy too, haha.
Billie’s Vendor Review
I do fear my stress coming into Atlanta Pride may have colored my experience, even when writing I felt frustrated. If you saw me at Pride and I seemed off, I promise it was me! Maybe these weren’t my best numbers, but they’re still good numbers. My gratitude and my ambition are in conflict =w=;;
| Foot Traffic | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ |
| Attendee Vibes | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ |
| Restrooms | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ |
| Pokémon GO | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ |
| Organization | ⭐⭐⭐ |
Atlanta Pride was still my best event of 2025. I’m disappointed with how communications with the Artist Market was handled, so I’m considering possibly applying for the Main Marketplace. Even with the much higher price tag they’ve at least been run consistently from what I can tell TTvTT Well, there’s still plenty of time to decide for 2026!
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