Engaging with nearby suppliers strengthens the foundation of any business. Their proximity, quality, and personalized services create growth opportunities that stretch beyond simple transactions. Businesses prioritizing partnerships with neighborhood suppliers enjoy enhanced agility, reduced costs, and a deeper connection to their communities. Understanding why local vendors matter highlights the importance of these relationships and their potential to transform operations into a sustainable and thriving model. By recognizing this value, businesses can adopt strategies that lead to mutual growth and long-term success.

Capturing stunning festival photos is a skill that blends creativity, preparation, and an eye for detail. Festivals provide vibrant settings with unique moments, making them ideal for creating captivating social media content. This guide will help you turn your festival experiences into visually appealing memories that will engage your audience online.

Understand the Festival’s Theme and Atmosphere

Before you start taking photos, it’s important to understand the theme and atmosphere of the festival. Festivals often celebrate culture, music, art, or local traditions; your photos should reflect these elements. Take time to observe the environment and identify what makes this event unique. Whether it’s colorful decorations, traditional attire, or energetic performances, knowing the essence of the festival allows you to capture it authentically.

The majority (55.5%) of big music festivals in the United States are held in urban centers, yet, in recent years, there's also been an increase in music festivals held in smaller, suburban areas. In fact, Bloomsberg reports that 20% of festivals are now located in either suburbs or exurbs. You can do a quick search for "music festivals near me" to see the growth in suburban music festivals for yourself. Usually, you'll find a suburban event within a couple of hours or so away. The rise of suburban festivals largely comes down to the uplifting, community feel these (often family-friendly) events provide locals. Plus, people also value the convenience of getting the live music experience without the need to travel far from home.   

Craft shows are a big deal to the average crafter. It's a brief chance to share our designs with the world. After 6 years of doing craft shows, I know I have about 3 minutes from the time a customer sees my products until they make a purchase. In a normal sales cycle, a 3 minute closing time is insane!

When you only have a few critical seconds to make a first impression (and ultimately a sale), what do you do?

Are you ready to plan the perfect festival weekend getaway? Whether you’re a seasoned festival-goer or a first-timer, thoughtful preparation is the key to a fantastic experience. This guide will walk you through choosing the right festival, setting a budget, and packing effectively. You'll learn how to make the most of your festival experience by managing travel accommodations and navigating the event like a pro. Follow these steps to enjoy every moment without stress, creating unforgettable memories along the way.

As summer rolls in, the thrill of festivals—bursting with music, art, and culture—beckons everyone, even those venturing out solo. In 2024, embracing the adventure alone crafts a story of personal freedom and offers an enriching pathway to self-discovery and independence. This blog post will serve as your guide to enjoying summer festivals alone, ensuring you maximize every moment. From selecting the right festival to capturing unforgettable memories, these tips aim to empower and inspire solo attendees to transform any festival experience into a personal celebration of self-expression and joy.

By prioritizing safety on the journey to your next festival, you can prevent potential travel disruptions, minimize the risk of accidents or delays, and navigate unexpected challenges with ease, allowing you to fully embrace the festival experience without any setbacks. So, whether you're driving or flying, prioritizing safety ensures that your journey to the festival is smooth and worry-free, allowing you to focus on the excitement and anticipation of the event rather than worrying about unforeseen obstacles along the way. With safety as your guide, you can embark on your festival adventure with confidence and peace of mind.

"Festivals are happy places, and you don't really want to enjoy them on your own." – Christine and The Queens. Festivals are all about fun, celebration and excitement. For many of us, they represent a chance to get out of our comfort zone, make new memories and feel free from any worries or work pressures, but have you ever found yourself feeling anxious as soon as you spot those festival bathrooms? Festive blogger Sophie shares a few tips on how to make the experience less horrific.

More women are attending festivals as a way to bond with friends and have a great time. According to recent data, 49% of festival attendees are female. Onstage, there's a slight increase in booked female artists as a study reveals that 27% of music festival acts in 2020 and 2021 were female, up from 18% from the previous years. 

Although some of the biggest festivals, such as Coachella and Lollapalooza, are popular among young women, this demographic is not reflected when it comes to choosing headliners for these events.

Thankfully, there are some really fun festivals that celebrate female performers, music, art, and festival food businesses that are definitely worth checking out. Here are the best festivals in the US that empower women.

Craft fairs are a celebration of the handmade and unique. They bring together local artisans and makers to showcase their handiwork and creativity. Whether you're looking for unique gifts, baked goods, or home goods, craft fairs offer a marketplace near you filled with one-of-a-kind items.

The Benefits of Shopping at Craft Fairs

Craft fairs offer a unique shopping experience that you won't find at big box stores. By supporting local artisans, you can find truly unique and one-of-a-kind items.

Many schools, churches, and other civic groups have yearly fund-raisers.  Donating products to raffles, charities, and other local opportunities is not only a good way to attract local attention for your business, but often can lead into interesting new directions. Folks can drum up new business through donations, and by doing this, branch out into markets and even other mediums otherwise unknown!

No matter what you’re looking to achieve in the new year, shopping local has become more popular over the past few years and shows no signs of stopping. While it may seem obvious that this helps local artists and vendors, it’s actually great for the environment and your own health. As you look for festivals or craft fairs to attend, here are a few things to keep in mind while supporting local businesses.

Art fairs are a great way for artists to showcase their work and connect with potential buyers. They also provide an opportunity for art enthusiasts to discover new talent and add to their collections. The United States is home to some of the most renowned art fairs in the world, attracting thousands of visitors and showcasing a wide range of mediums and styles.

Here are the top 5 cities for art fairs in the USA:

Going to festivals feeds your soul and boosts your mood. Festivals offer us joy and that special feeling of belonging to the crowd. However, festivals often turn out to be quite expensive pleasures. Well, at least if you don't have us on your side. Today, we'll share some valuable tips for visiting festivals on a budget to help you enjoy and gather new exciting experiences.

Make a good choice of festival

Don't simply choose the most well-attended events at random. Instead, you should consider which festivals would provide the greatest bang for your buck and plan accordingly. Unless there is a particular headliner, you have your heart set on seeing, the price of the festival should be weighed less heavily than the quality of the music bill and other events. Another consideration is proximity since it will save you money on transportation costs if it is within easy driving distance. 

Avoid spending a lot on clothes

It is not necessary to spend a fortune on festival attire. Every summer, stores like H&M and Forever 21 release festival-specific collections that are easy on the wallet. For an even better deal, check out your neighborhood thrift shop for some vintage treasures. Thrift shops are also great options for winter festivals - you'll avoid sky-rocket holiday prices. It's safe to say that festival attire of the retro kind has never been more at home.

Volunteering helps not only those in need of aid, but also those who are paying it forward—as found in a 2015 study in the journal, Motivation and Emotion. When you fundraise or donate your time, it helps you engage more easily with others, lowers your stress, and helps you enjoy the support and intimacy that good friendships can bring. If you are interested in offering your time, which U.S. festivals have the most to offer in terms of the work you can do and the fun you can have when you are on a break or you have a day off?

The summer of 2022 may be the first in a long time that you and your friends will be embracing festival life to the full once again, following a string of cancellations over the past two years. Just a few of the many exciting upcoming festivals include Summerfest in Milwaukee, Rolling Loud in Miami, and Lollapalooza in Chicago. In many ways, however, there will be a different air to these popular events; one characterized by the zeitgeist of the post-COVID era: togetherness.

The Spring/Summer 2022 festival lineup is heating up, with so many major music fests, arts and crafts shows, and food festivals taking place across the globe and in the US. In Summer 2022, for instance, you can take your pick from Lollapalooza (taking place in July in Chicago), the Pitchfork Music Festival (in Chicago), and the Governors Ball Music Festival in New York City for your next event. Many would say that the only downside to festivals is their carbon footprint.

According to research conducted in 2020, festivals can harm the environment by bringing hundreds of thousands of people to one place at the same time. In the average music festival, 7% of carbon emissions are caused by waste, 13% by energy, and a whopping 80% by attendee travel. This can not be left unchanged. If you are traveling to a festival this Spring/Summer, how can you do your share to support the environment in a more sustainable manner?

As the days shorten and nights become longer, many cities across the US have found ways to lighten and lifts our spirits by embracing the magic of this time of year. Festivals, and events fill the streets and enrich our days and nights all over the country. Snow piled forests and frozen rivers offer a magical ambiance with winter recreational activities providing an added excitement.

While many are familiar with the iconic and beautiful holiday displays put on in New York City, between the traffic and tourists, it certainly wouldn’t be considered a winter wonderland-esk experience. So what are the cities and towns that can truly give you the breath taking and magical winter wonderland experience, combined with the holiday cheer and livelihood of shopping, event and festivals? To find out, Rocket Homes conducted a study to ranks the best places all over the US to experience a winter wonderland that also offer a variety of holiday festivals and events.

This past year has been tough on everyone, but it brings a unique sense of loss to those of us who love music festivals.

Well-known festivals like Ultra Music Festival, Rolling Loud, Coachella, and Lollapalooza Festival have become part of our culture. And smaller festivals are gathering places on a spiritual level for music fans who share a love of live music.

But ever since all music festivals (even the iconic Coachella!) were canceled due to the pandemic, people have been wondering about the future of music festivals in a post-Covid music world. Here are our predictions based on what we know so far.

Upon landing in your online shop, your photos are the first thing that speaks to your customers about your work. If the photos are out of focus, pixelated, confusing, or poorly lit, you've lost a potential customer. If you don't take the time to share excellent photos of your items, don't wonder why you aren't making any sales. It is the most important thing about online selling; good photos of your work pay off.

Good photos = more online sales. Bad photos won't get you anywhere.

Pictured Above:  Jewelry by Gerina Shop
I like many of these shop photos, they are clean, sharp, naturally lit, and non distracting. She uses shells and pennies to give the shopper context, a great idea!

Take some time to look around the marketplace to get ideas for your photos! (Or to see what not to do.  😎)