42nd Cape Coral Art Festival

2027 Exhibitor Application

The Cape Coral Art Festival invites you to apply to be one of 200 exceptional artists at our 2027 Outdoor street event, rated 5th best in the nation by Sunshine Artists 2020. Cape Coral has been named as one of the fastest growing cities in America. In 2026, our festival had an attendance of over 87,000 visitors to the South Cape area in Cape Coral, Florida. The two-day event gives patrons who are eager to purchase Art for their new homes, the opportunity to meet and purchase art from exhibiting artists and fine craftspeople. Our goal is to provide the public and our selected exhibitors an experience of unparalleled quality. Proceeds from the Festival helps the Rotary Club of Cape Coral fulfill its mission of serving our community through the award of grants to organizations needing assistance “Service above Self”. View our programs at capecoralartfestival.com.

This coming January, we will be hosting our 42nd annual two-day public outdoor event and a month long virtual or online selling opportunity. Our virtual event will be online January 8th to January 31st at www.capecoralartfestival.com.

Our public outdoor event on January 9th and 10th, 2027, will give patrons the opportunity to meet and purchase from artists and fine crafters. We will feature a virtual platform to provide our artists and businesses exposure to the world. The event is free to the public. 

Art Festival Notable Features this Year!

Artist Patron Purchase Award Program.  Patron Awards are sold to the General Public and also made available to our sponsors as Holiday promotional gifts.  We will be selling the purchase awards as "Unique Holiday Gifts" for friends, family and Business Clients. Our goal is to sell at least $20,000 in Patron Gift Certificates.

Business Showcase.  The Marketplace area is being transitioned to the Business Showcase and will feature more local businesses that are a resource for new residents who need services.

Premier Artists.  Artists who score the highest jury scores will be invited to display in our “Premier Artists Area" just a few steps away from the Holiday Inn Express.  

Artist Amenities

This year we will again have a special area to Celebrate and Recognize “Premier Artists.”   We are organizing the “Premier Artist” area to recognize the fine artists who are contributing so much to make a positive impact on our world.   Artists who score the highest jury scores will be invited to display in our exclusive “Premier Artists Area.”  This area will accommodate the 72 highest jury scoring Artists.

The benefits of being invited to participate in our “Premier Artist Area” include:

Booth location steps from lodging accommodations, Holiday Inn Express;

Being first to reserve reduced lodging package at the Holiday Inn Express;

Larger Booth Space: 13-foot-wide single booth spaces; and

Dedicated Artist bathrooms.

Amenities for all Fine Crafters and Artists include:

     * Artist Patron program to increase sales;
     * 11-foot single Booth spaces located on the street;
     *Enhanced WiFi service provided to prevent usage overload problems;
      *Security:  24 Hours
     * Complimentary Continental Breakfast served on Saturday and Sunday mornings;
      *Drive-up access to your booth for set-up, teardown plus Saturday and Sunday mornings until 9 am;
     * Artist information packets will be delivered to booths by 9:00 am on Saturday morning;
      *The festival will close at 4 pm on Sunday to allow an additional daylight for Booth teardown;
      *Free Convenient off-street parking for Artists’ Vehicles and RVs;
      *$11,000 in cash awards;
     * Award Presentation Breakfast on Sunday morning before the Festival opens;
      *Water and Snacks delivered to booths;
     * Booth and ½ space: 10’ x 16.5’) in lieu of a standard 11’ Single or 22’ Double booth space; and
     * Dedicated group of Rotarian volunteers to assist with Booth set-up, tear-down and booth sitting.

The Cape Coral Art Festival has artist friendly procedures in place to ensure that your weekend is pleasant and profitable. Our Artist Hospitality team will be there to greet and direct you to your booth location for Set Up and will be available to assist you if needed.

FESTIVAL DEADLINES:

September 4, 2026: Artist /Fine Crafter Applications due by 5:00 pm

September 7 - October 2, 2026: Jury Selection

October 9, 2026: Invitation of Acceptance; Notification emailed to accepted, waitlisted, and not invited artists

November 6, 2026: Deadline of Acceptance by Artists to Event Committee 

November 30, 2026: Booth payment deadline

December 11, 2026: Artists who have paid for their booth will be notified of their booth assignment which will be based upon Artist submitted booth location requests in the special requests section.  Artists who would like to change their assigned booth location are to notify Christina Redman via email at cgredman@gmail.com.

December 14, 2026: Deadline for Artists to cancel participation with no forfeiture of booth fee.

December 14, 2026: Artist Proof of Insurance due. Send proof of insurance to cgredman@gmail.com

December 30, 2026: Deadline to order a rental tent from Creative Events in Fort Myers (239) 768-6393. If a tent is needed for our festival, mention our event to indicate where you need a tent. The Artist must supply their own side walls.

January 8, 2026: Artist Festival Set-up

January 9-10, 2027:  42nd Cape Coral Art Festival and Business Showcase, which is located in South “Downtown” Cape Coral Parkway.

ACCEPTED CATEGORIES AND MEDIA DEFINITIONS:
 
Media categories are used by the Cape Coral Arts Festival as a tool for organizing images into logical, related groups for jury review. While it is the Festival’s principal objective to present a balanced show that equitably showcases both 1) works of fine art and craft and 2) diversity among media, please note that the Festival establishes no quota or entitlement by media category. All work must be original and signed handcrafted work. The artist signature defines and establishes artist ownership, and this guarantees the accuracy of the description of the works presented and the authenticity of the work as the creation of their own hands.
 
Ceramics - All original clay and porcelain work other than jewelry is accepted in category. If multiple pieces of the same design are displayed, the artist must sign each piece. Machine made and mass-produced work is not permitted. Embellishment of manufactured materials is not permitted. 

Digital Art- Original work utilizing computer software solely to create, design, and produce work.  Work must be printed on archival quality paper and signed by the Artist.  Exhibitor must disclose and display both their creative and printing processes in their booth during the festival. Work generated by or with the help of Artificial Intelligence is prohibited.

Drawing & Pastels- Works created using dry media including chalk, charcoal, pastels, pencil, wax crayons, etc. or from fluid media including inks and washes applied by pen or brush.
 
Fiber and Fiber Wearables- All work crafted from fibers, including basketry, embroidery, weaving, tapestry and paper making as well as original designed and hand produced wearable art. No commercially machine-tooled, machine-screened patterns or miscellaneous forms of mass production are permitted, including manufactured seams. NO factory produced items, regardless of additional modifications or enhancements may be exhibited. Embellishment of manufactured materials is not permitted. Hardware such as zippers and buttons may be incorporated but must clearly play a subordinate role in the finished piece.
 
Glass- Glass works that are functional or decorative by design and are kiln-formed or have been crafted by glass blowing, fusing, staining, molding, or casting. Works may be etched or engraved.  Embellishment of manufactured materials is not permitted. No forms of mass production are permitted.
 
Graphics/Printmaking - Printed works in which the artist hand- manipulated the plates, stones, or screens. Prints must be signed and numbered as a limited edition. Print makers are required to disclose their creative and printing process.
 
Jewelry- All jewelry whether the work is produced from metal, glass, clay, fiber, paper, plastic, or other materials must be entered in this category.  No commercial casts, molds, or production studio work is allowed. Limited use of pre-made material such as beads** or small ornamental items is permitted. No more than 10% of a piece may consist of commercial findings including hardware like clasps and earring backs. The major impact of the piece must be the original work of the artist. ** Beads must be made by the artist. There are only one exceptions to this rule: 1) If the beads are not made by the artist, they must clearly play a subordinate role in the finished piece and 2) The requirement that beads must be made by the artist does not apply in the technique known as bead weaving, however commercial bead weaving kits are not permitted.
 
Leather- Work where the primary material is leather including belts, handbags, wearables, and sculpture work. All factory-produced items are prohibited regardless of additional modification or enhancement by the artist.
 
Metal- Includes all non-sculptural, non-jewelry work crafted from metals. No production studio work is allowed.
 
2D Mixed Media- Two-Dimensional work in which the primary intention is to enhance and create depth with the union of two or more mediums in in one one piece. Works should include two of the following paint, pencil, watercolor, photography, printmaking, or drawing.

3D Mixed Media - Works that incorporate more than one type of physical material in their production.  Works should include more than two of the following clay work, fiber, glass, metal, wood or any other 3D objects. 3D mixed media must include dimension as a main feature. Works majorly produced from found objects must exhibit quality design and artistry, and the final product must be an entirely new piece. Work must be standing or suitable for hanging.

Painting/ Oils or Acrylics- Works created in Oils and Acrylics are in this category.  Creation of still life, portrait, landscape, abstract or other image on a flat surface such as canvas with oil and/acrylic paint suitable for hanging.

Painting/ Watercolor or Tempera- Works created in watercolor or tempura are in this category.  Creation of still life, portrait, landscape, abstract or other image on a flat surface such as canvas with oil and/acrylic paint suitable for hanging.

Photography and Digital Photography- The process of capturing images that begins with a camera, then printing the images by chemical or digital means onto a surface, This category includes traditional film photography and digital photography. All pieces must be signed, numbered and dated in limited editions of no more than 250. Prints must have been processed by the artist and printed under the artist’s direct supervision. In addition, to the above, the surface on which the photographs are printed must be identified in the description of technique (paper, aluminum, wood, fabric, canvas, etc.). Photographers are required to disclose their creative and printing processes.
 
Sculpture- Three dimensional completely original work created and produced by the artist in any medium.
 
Wood- Original works that are hand-tooled, machine-worked, turned, or carved. Embellished manufactured wood items and mass production are not permitted.
 
AWARDS:
 
All Artists will be judged during the festival on Saturday for First and Second Place Awards in each category by our respected judges. All Artists are eligible to receive an award. Each award winner will receive a ribbon, a cash award and an invitation to bypass the jury process in 2028. Award winners from the previous year still need to apply and will be required to pay application and booth fees, but acceptance will be automatic. The Festival Committee reserves the right to not declare a winner in a category that only has one or two artists and the judge deems them not worthy of an award.

Best in EACH Category: $500

2nd Place in EACH Category: $250

Poster Artist Award: The booth fee of our selected poster artist for the Art Festival will be waived. The Poster Artist must agree to hand sign 100 posters. 

Jury Process:
 
A blind jury will select artists for invitation between September 7 – October 2, 2026.  Up to 200 artists will be invited through the jury process. Award winning artists from the 2026 Cape Coral Arts Festival will automatically be invited to participate. Festival jury will be conducted by a panel of experienced artists and community professionals and is based solely upon the quality of the work as illustrated in the submitted digital images and submitted statement of material/technique. It is in the best interest of the artist to submit high quality pictures that depict representative samples of the art that will be sold during the festival.  It is the responsibility of the Artist/ Fine Crafter to convey with their booth a very professional appearance. Booths that do not look professional will not be invited to participate.  Accepted artists will be the top/highest scores in their respective category/medium. The Highest Scoring Fine Artists and Fine Crafters will be invited to exhibit in our Premier Artists Area.  Cape Coral Arts Festival may limit the number of Artists accepted in some categories in order to present a balanced show. Decisions of the jury are final. Artist scores will not be released. The Festival Director has the option to fill all vacancies from the Festival waitlist based upon jury scores. The jury process is closed. 

Artist Images

A total of 8 images must be submitted by each Artist:

4 images of recent representative work

1 Image of Booth

1 Image of Artist working in Studio

The jury reserves the right to request 2026 receipts for raw materials used to produce your art or craft.  Studio Photos and receipts will not be shown to the blind jury.  The Festival Co-Chair will review the studio and receipts (if requested) and does not serve as a member of the jury.  Applications that do not include the studio picture and do not send pictures of receipts when requested will be automatically rejected.

 Eventeny Virtual   Things to know about our “Optional Participation”  Eventeny Virtual event: Inclusion in the virtual event is free to live exhibitors. 

There are no risks when creating a business shop page. You can add videos, pictures, products, etc. or you can go as simple as your logo and a link to your website.
Convenience for buyers. Buyers can purchase from multiple vendors with one transaction which has been shown to increase the likelihood visitors will purchase. 78% of shoppers on Eventeny purchase from multiple vendors and artists.
Promotion through the event and ranking shops on Google via SEO meta-tagging.
You will have a personal booth page for your work.
If you’re connected to multiple virtual events on Eventeny, you only have to do the bulk of the work once and tailor as needed for other shows. You won’t need to create separate booth pages per event. See the helpful tips on capecoralartfestival.com

INSURANCE:
 
All exhibiting Artists must carry an insurance policy that names the City of Cape Coral, Rotary Club of Cape Coral and the Cape Coral Rotary Foundation, Inc. as additional liability insureds in the amount of $1,000,000.00. If you do not have an adequate insurance policy for our Festival, one can be obtained for approximately $46.  Information about obtaining insurance from ACT Insurance Company for the Festival will be sent to Invited Artists.

Booth Payment:

All booth will be charged upon approval on November 30, 2026, using the credit card number on file with Eventeny.

Artist Set-Up:

Important Artist set-up information will be emailed to all participating artists on January 3, 2027. 

Friday evening booth set-up on January 8, 2027  after closure of Cape Coral Parkway, Approximately 7:00 pm. Self Check-in for Artists, our hospitality team will deliver information packets with official name badges to you when you are setting up your booth or to your booth on Saturday morning by 9 am if we can not find you on Friday evening.

Drive up access to your booth location during set up hours on Friday evening and Saturday morning as well as booth teardown Sunday evening. All Exhibitor Vehicles must be off Cape Coral Parkway, in the Festival Area, by 9 am Saturday morning and 7pm on Sunday evening.

Full refunds of Booth fees (minus processing fees) will be granted on or before  December 14, 2026.  All cancellations after December 14th will be non-refundable.

The application fee or jury fee will not be refunded to the artist.  Refunds will not be given if the festival is cancelled due to inclement weather or other acts of God over which the sponsors have no control.