Whew, I’d hoped to finish this review sooner, but the end of the year is just full of holiday festivities, y’know? Well here’s my current year resolution, to finish all my vendor reviews before 2026 >3<
This was the inaugural Big Shanty Bazaar for Cobb County’s Art Station, but not their first time hosting art markets! I’d heard good recommendations for their Indie Art Market in August, so when they put out a call for vendors for their Bazaar, I knew I wanted to apply! Plus, the Renaissance theme was just so fun and I loved the joyful rats on their marketing graphics.
I thought it was interesting they choose November to host it, since the Georgia Renaissance Faire has also been running their Fall Fling from November to December. Would this fierce competition from a local juggernaut draw away attendance? We’ll soon find out!
Applications
The Art Station put out their call for vendors in September across social media, with their application deadline on October 1. They were illustrated with beautiful little silly rats, beckoning us to join their realm. The silly rat faces compelled me. With only a 10 dollar booth fee, I figured the Big Shanty Bazaar would be worth a shot! And all those smiling rats.
Applications were done through email, with their application form .pdf downloadable on the main Art Station website. You also had to pay for the booth fee up front through the official Cobb County events website, for which you do need to make an account. If you weren’t accepted as vendor, your booth fee would be refunded. It was very similar to how I applied for the Year of the Snake gallery show last year.
I got my acceptance through email in early October! The message also included our vendor info packet, social media graphics, and an application form for their upcoming Illuminated gallery as well. To pair with the Big Shanty Bazaar, this gallery would be Renaissance themed as well and they were looking for historical or fantastical imagery, not necessarily limited to Europe. I knew what to do, both my pieces “Can’t Pray Away This Gay” and “Please Ask, Do Tell” were inspired by the triptych style of Renaissance Catholic art. Which, I know is technically not medieval, but if I was being encouraged, I figured I may as well!
So I filled in their application form for Illuminated, and then heard back in early November that “Please Ask, Do Tell” was chosen! I’d have ’til the end of the week to drop it off, so I rushed my butt over to Sam Flax to get a frame, haha. I was a little surprised that “Please Ask, Do Tell” was chosen over “Can’t Pray Away This Gay,” since the former has more modern influences. I kind of wish I had also thought to include “Slither Slaughter Slumber” in my application, but I was so focused on my two triptychs. Next time!
Big Shanty Bazaar
I arrived super early and was amongst the first artists there! We were allowed to show up as early as 7 AM and I arrived around 7:30 give or take. Nothing stresses me out more than a rushed setup. Check-in was enough, Andy was right at the front of the parking lot and directed me to my booth spot. After unloading my stuff, I took my car to the neighboring high school where we vendors were asked to park. I was a little worried the walk back would be far, but fortunately there was a trail that made the trip real quick.
I was pretty lucky that my tent spot was up near the front, just the third or fourth down our row. While the autumn morning was pretty chilly, I was able to warm myself up by assembling my tent. Just in case though, I did bring packs of hot hands and my trunk blanket, which did come in handy later! While it was a sunny my tent was in shade most of the day making it cold to just sit in. I kept the same setup I used for Harvest Fest which seemed to work well. There was a little bit of wind and my neighbors and I ended up being right on top of each other with all our tents set up so I did move my display shirts to the inside of my booth.
Right after opening at 10 AM, people were entering our market and lining up at the information booth for a chance at their fortune wheel. Visitors could spin the wheel for a chance at exclusive Big Shanty Bazaar items like tote bags, pinback buttons, felt penchants, and more! All with original art design by the staff themselves.
The Art Station was decked out with hand painted wooden panels, backdrops for fun photos and whimsical rats to lead guests’ way. I was excited to see them in person after watching their WIP videos on Instagram, they’re super impressive! I think there may have been some kind of scavenger hunt or stamp rally where if you found all the rats you got a prize?
The flow of people continued to be consistent throughout the day. There was a whole schedule of activities for the main stage section: live musicians, live art demos, face painting, blacksmith demos, etc. And on the opposite end of our market, there was a variety of food trucks for visitors to grab lunch. Even when we drew close to closing, I couldn’t tidy up too early because there were still browsers coming around.
My sales did peak around 12 PM, which makes sense because by then most of the earliest visitors had made their rounds to decide on what to buy. I did get a pretty good mix of small purchases and big purchases. I noticed a lot of folks got excited when they recognized my “Please Ask, Do Tell!” print from the one I had hanging up in the Illuminated gallery! The crowd was made up of families, young adults, and a few elderly folks. Some of our attendees were regular park visitors who happened upon our market. I still got the sense that people were looking forward to this event, spotted lots of ren garb and enthusiasm in shopping around.
It seemed my concern that the Georgia Renaissance Faire could be tough to beat were unfounded. I think, part of it could be that while both are local events, they are at least an hour drive away from each other, so perhaps Kennesaw residents were happy they could partake in medieval frivolities closer to home?
One of my regrets is that I didn’t get to visit the Illuminated art gallery for long and forgot to take photos! I ended up so busy that I missed out on the award ceremony, and the only chance I got to visit was just before opening.
Billie’s Vendor Review
Overall, I’m both very impressed and pleased with the first Big Shanty Bazaar and will keep the Art Station on my to-watch list! With the low booth fee of 10 dollars, I was certainly able to make it back and then some. It was my second best market of the fall, after Atlanta Pride. I won’t expect Big Shanty’s future events to necessarily keep that low fee, especially with all the production they put on!
Their communication is wonderful and most if not all of the Big Shanty Art Station staff are artists themselves! So I think think they’re very understanding of what vendors need for a successful art market. They even handed out the event exclusive Big Shanty Bazaar tote bags to us and sent an email asking for feedback afterwards.
| Foot Traffic | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ |
| Attendee Vibes | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ |
| Restrooms | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ |
| Pokémon GO | ⭐⭐⭐ |
| Organization | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ |
The Big Shanty Bazaar also got coverage by the Marietta Daily Journal! Check it out if you’d like to hear more accounts.
Bonus! I treated myself to my first ever, Culver’s meal for dinner! One of their few Georgia locations is just down the street from the Art Station. I’d heard lots of good things from my Wisconsin friend.
Leave a Reply