One of the most frustrating things you can do is to try and find a gift for the person that has everything.  You can literally spend hours wandering a mall hoping that just one unique thing will grab your attention, only to leave with nothing but a stomach ache from the over cooked hot dog that caught your attention from the food court. 

There is a pretty easy solution to satisfy your gift buying needs.  If you live in a moderately sized city or town, at least occasionally, if not weekly, you can find some sort of art festival.  These festivals feature artisans who typically make there living by selling their work to the public.  Most of time, their work is not the type that sells for thousands of dollars in galleries, but rather unique items such as handcrafted jewelry, pottery, glass work, photography, etc. that are in a price range suitable for a nice gift. 

Almost all art festivals have a strict jurying process to ensure the quality of the products being sold.  Artisans must submit photos of their work well in advance in order to be considered for an arts festival.  Some art festivals require an entrance fee upwards of $500, so the artists who apply and show their work must be confident in the product they are creating and selling.  This ensures that you wont go to an art show expecting to buy a nice piece of artisan jewelry only to find your neighbor and her daughter selling yarn “friendship bracelets.” 

Art festivals also do a fairly good job of presenting a diverse field of artists.  Some of the staple products that you can always count on seeing at any arts festival are pottery, wood carving, guard work, paintings, photography, handmade jewelry, textiles, and metal work.  But you also find some very unique and sometimes even bizarre work out there.  It’s really amazing what people can up with, and then make a living selling it. 

 Either way, whether you are just looking for something to do on a summer weekend, or else you really have someone or something in mind, arts festivals are a great way to support your local community in many ways.

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