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About
Us
The Great Lakes Beach Glass & Coastal Arts Festival was created and founded in 2013 by Jen of Relish Inc. (3835 W12th Street, Erie, PA / www.relishinc.com ) and her sister. Jen was a founding member of the North American Sea Glass Association (NASGA), which holds shows throughout the country each year and chose Erie for one of the 2009 events. After the 2009 event, Jen saw the need for a more regular event in the Erie area and formed what has become the hugely successful “Great Lakes Beach Glass & Coastal Arts Festival”. Originally held over Memorial Day weekend, the festival was eventually moved to October to help fill the gap in winter festivals and events in the area. Over the years the show was also opened up to non-beach glass vendors to help diversify and allow attendees a wider variety of options for holiday shopping. The event was a semi-annual show until CoVID, returning in 2022 before Jen decided without the help of her longtime partner it was time to call it quits. In September of 2023 she informed her vendors that the previous year was the last year for the event.
Thanks to many of Jen’s loyal vendors, we were able to meet, discuss and agree to carry on her event for both the vendors and the beach glass community much as we did in Ashtabula. It is our hope to offer you an event with quality peers/artists, educational speakers and components.
This event is INDOORS at the Bayfront Convention Center, nestled on the coast of Lake Erie in the heart of Erie, PA.
About
You
You should consider yourself an artist and your work art! If you don’t take yourself or your work seriously, neither will anyone else! This show has 1 major rule… YOU MUST USE NATURALLY SOURCED GLASS: TUMBLED AND/OR MANUFACTURED GLASS IS NOT PERMITTED! Your glass may be bought or sourced from a third party, but must be natural. You should have basic comprehension skills, the ability to take direction and work well with others.
YOU CANNOT BECOME A NEW VENDOR WITHOUT COMPLETING THE NEW VENDOR APPLICATION PROCESS.
FEES: There is a $25 fee to apply. We do not have financial sponsors or sponsorships, we like to keep our event ours! All the fees for applications and registrations are what pay the bills - advertising, security, insurances, day-of operations, administrative duties and more. WE DO NOT ACCEPT MLM (multi level marketing) OR CORPORATE VENDORS! We give preference to beach glass and beach themed vendors; however, we allow a percentage of our vendors to be food or unrelated items in an effort to broaden our customer base and allow for a small amount of variety while maintaining the integrity of what we are… A BEACH GLASS & BEACH THEMED FESTIVAL! Application fees are non-refundable, non-negotiable and non-transferable.
Applications will be processed (reviewed and a response given) within 7 days of receipt.
Your application must be complete (available below) and accompanied by 5 - 10 photos of your art/work/products EMAILED to beachglassfestival@gmail.com within 24 hours of completing your Square application payment. Payments not accompanied by applications and photos will not be refunded.
Applications ARE NOT a registration and DO NOT guarantee a space at the event. Applications are our way of approving those who will be ELIGIBLE to register for event space. Approved applicants will be able to register immediately upon approval. Spaces are on a first come, first serve basis and we will not exceed 150 vendors regardless of the number of approved vendors. If you are approved to be a 2024 vendor and are unable to complete your registration in time to make the 150, you can still be added to our wait list, this will make you eligible to replace any vendors who may drop out of the event due to personal reasons. The cost of registration starts at $400 (with additional options available) for new artists/vendors and due at the time of registration. We have secured a discounted rate at the attached Sheraton for vendors who are traveling to the show.
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Once your completed application and photos are received you will receive an auto-generated invoice for your $25 application fee within 72 hours. Invoices will be sent to the email listed on your application. An application is not considered complete until payment is received. Once payment is received and your application is complete you will receive a response regarding your application status within 7 -10 days!