Art & Apples Festival 2027

Juried fine art festival at Rochester Municipal Park in downtown Rochester, Michigan, September 10–12, 2027. The festival features more than 250 national exhibitors and an estimated weekend attendance of 50,000. Artists exhibit and sell original work in accepted fine-art categories. On-site awards include one $1,500 Best in Show award and four $500 Awards of Excellence.

Applicants must be at least 18. This application does not accept emerging artists. Original fine art is accepted in 2D and 3D mixed media, ceramics, digital art, drawing, non-wearable and wearable fibers, glass, metal and non-metal jewelry, metalsmithing, painting, photography, printmaking, sculpture, and wood. Production/fabrication groups or teams, buy-sell, wholesale and MLM vendors are excluded; collaborating artists may apply jointly, but the named primary artists must attend check-in and remain for the festival's duration. Photo ID is required; representatives are not permitted.

Submit three artwork photos and one booth photo accurately representing the intended display, together with an artist statement. Remove identifying names, logos, signage, legible signatures, oversized watermarks and identifying statement content for anonymous jurying; identifying material is disqualified from jury viewing. Significant deviations from the juried booth display may cause on-site disqualification. Up to two applications are permitted. Applications and booth payments must be submitted digitally through ZAPP unless specifically authorized otherwise. Artists must apply and receive a jury score to participate; acceptance is not guaranteed, and scores below 3.5 typically do not receive invitations. Waitlisted artists may be called up to one week before the event.

The standard application fee is $49 and is non-refundable. Notified jury-exempt 2026 participants must submit a free application by March 31 using their FREE APP waiver code; failing to use the code risks re-jurying as well as unnecessary payment. Participation requires purchasing a booth by July 21, 2027. Single booths cost $525 and measure 11 x 11 feet plus 4 feet of rear storage (11 x 15 feet total). Double booths cost $1,000 and measure 22 x 11 feet plus rear storage (22 x 15 feet total); they are offered first to jury-exempt artists and then the highest-scoring artists, subject to availability. Otherwise artists are limited to one single booth; buying two singles to obtain a double may be declined without refund. Outside-corner upgrades cost $200 and inside-corner upgrades $150 in addition to the booth price. Booth placement requests and upgrades are first-come, first-served after payment, with no placement guarantee.

All work must be designed and made by the accepted artists. Commercially cast jewelry, commercial molds, imported or commercially made products, production-studio work and generative-AI work are prohibited. Artists may exhibit and sell only in their accepted category, and displayed work must be consistent with the accepted samples. Jewelry must be entered in a jewelry category regardless of material; only accepted jewelry exhibitors may sell jewelry. Fiber categories prohibit machine-tooled or machine-screened patterns and mass-produced or factory-produced items, even if modified. Photography must be the artist's own images, printed by the artist or under direct supervision, with creative and printing processes disclosed; only traditional corrections are allowed in photography, with more extensive manipulation entered as digital art. Photographic work must be signed and use archival materials, with prints numbered in editions of no more than 250. Printmaking must be original, hand-manipulated work, signed and numbered in editions of 250. Reproductions of the artist's originals are allowed only in limited, signed, numbered editions of no more than 250 and cannot form the majority of booth work. Laser-engraved wood designs must originate with the artist, not purchased licenses.

Artists supply their own tent, display units, weights, tools and weather protection and must keep all artwork, furniture and displays within their allotted space. Electricity is available only in limited designated locations, first-come, first-served; generators are prohibited. Artists collect and pay 6% Michigan sales tax. Thursday, September 9 load-in uses suggested staggered times; Friday load-in begins as early as 9 a.m., vehicle entry ends at noon, and all vehicles must leave by 1 p.m. Selling ends at 4 p.m. Sunday; vehicle re-entry for load-out follows police clearance and staff authorization after significant booth disassembly.

On-site prizes are one $1,500 Best in Show award and four $500 Awards of Excellence. Up to one third of the highest-scoring artists may receive jury-exempt invitations for 2028, but participating 2027 artists in painting, metal jewelry, ceramics, digital art and printmaking are ineligible for 2028 exemption. No artist may receive jury-exempt status more than three consecutive years; categories rotate through re-jurying on a four-year cycle.

Withdrawal on or before May 31, 2027 receives a refund of applicable booth, corner and electricity fees minus $50; June 1–30 receives 50%; beginning July 1 no fees are refunded. Partial refunds caused by artist purchase errors may incur a $50 administrative fee. Withdraw by emailing Catherine@pccart.org with the application ID; the email date determines withdrawal date. Withdrawal within 14 days of the festival or failure to appear without notice may affect consideration the following year.