On Tue, 12 Aug 2008 15:18:20 GMT, notbob > wrote:

>On 2008-08-11, Janet Bostwick > wrote:
>
>> A neighbor does roasted almonds. This year his booth cost on the West Coast
>> is $850 per day. Gotta sell a lot of almonds to cover that.
>> Janet
>
>I wondered about the economics of these festivals/fairs. Since the primary
>point seems to be the vendors and not the alleged theme of said fair (art,
>food, history, etc), I have to assume these municipalities have it all
>worked out as to how much $$$ they are going to reap and how much they will
>charge vendors for the privilege of shaking down the rubes. Eight-fifty
>seems quite high, since some of these vendors look like they don't gross one
>quarter that, but I guess it depends on the locale/event and what you're
>selling. In the end, I can see no reason for these events other than to
>fill town coffers, so I'm sure the vendors pay dearly for their spot and
>have to charge accordingly and that more than just simple greed was the
>determining factor on the absurd price points.
>
>Anyone else having any info on the economics of fair/festival vendors?

We just got through with the taste of Chicago. There was one vendor
(restaurant) interviewed for TV who said he made over half his years
profit during the 10 days of the fest. So I guess is can be
profitable in the right situation. But we did have 1.2 million people
attend. I'll bet a small city would have much different results.

Lou