Craft on the River - (Nov 2026)

A juried outdoor arts and crafts market at Rousakis Riverfront Plaza on Savannah’s historic riverfront, November 20–22, 2026. Artists, craftspeople, makers, and creative entrepreneurs sell original art and handcrafted work directly to the public. Accepted categories include mixed media, ceramics, digital art, drawing and printmaking, prepackaged handmade edibles, fiber, glass, handcraft, jewelry, metal, painting, photography, sculpture, and wood and furniture. Emerging artists may apply.

Submit five images, including a required booth shot, through Zapplication. Emerging artists are accepted. The application/administrative processing fee is $30 and non-refundable. Booth fees are $500 standard or $1,000 double, with limited availability for double booths; a corner upgrade costs $100 and electricity $50, both subject to availability. The purchase deadline is November 13, 2026. Late applications may be accepted at the director’s discretion and placed on the waitlist; social media is considered in jury review.

Work must be original, handmade, and created by the exhibitor. Reproductions must be clearly identified, original art must occupy at least 50% of the artist’s space, browse bins must occupy minimal space without obstructing patrons, and all displayed artwork must be for sale. Only jury-approved categories may be shown. Artists must personally attend with their work for the entire festival; commercial agents, dealers, salespeople, employees, and representatives may not operate their booths. Buy/sell merchandise is prohibited. Exclusions include commercial clothing and T-shirts, posters, manufactured toys, commercially manufactured or reproduced resale items, jewelry with more than 50% manufactured components, and items using commercially available molds or patterns.

Drawing and printmaking entries must be original; prints must be signed and numbered, and photocopies are prohibited. Fiber and glass categories prohibit embellishment of manufactured materials. Handcraft requires a complete description of the items and transformation of manufactured, recycled, or repurposed materials into a unique, cohesive collection. Jewelry cannot use commercial molds or casts; the source also requires at least 50% of organic materials in the finished product to be produced by the artist. Photography must originate from the artist’s own negative or digital capture and be processed by the artist. Embellished manufactured wood items are prohibited. Edibles must be handmade, prepackaged, and not prepared on-site. Food trucks and honey booths are not accepted. Food booths must register successfully with Savannah DPH and submit their business license and all required DPH paperwork; this process should begin at least six weeks before the event and/or immediately upon acceptance.

The source requires a City of Savannah Business License costing $85 per calendar year, obtainable after acceptance rather than before application, with at least two weeks allowed for processing. Artists should use the event address as their business address. It states that residents of counties immediately surrounding Chatham County are exempt, but also states that ALL selling artists must register even if they hold a Georgia business license; clarify this conflicting language with the Savannah Department of Revenue. Exhibitors must obtain all applicable permits and pay applicable taxes and fees. The stated sales-tax rate is 7%.

Only ground space is supplied. Bring your own displays and a white-top, EZ UP-quality-or-higher 10'x10' tent; tailgating tents are prohibited. Assigned spaces are approximately 10 feet deep and 11 feet wide or larger, and all work must remain within the assigned space. The booth section limits tents to 10'x11'. The main rules specify professional weights of 45–50 pounds per tent leg, while other sections state 40/45 pounds or 40 pounds per leg; confirm the applicable weight requirement. No stakes or tying to trees or lamp posts. Acceptable weights include sufficiently weighted tubes, cloth sandbags, concrete-filled buckets, stabilizer bars with sandbags, and weight plates or dumbbells. Grid panels or stabilizer bars alone, raw concrete blocks or bricks, water containers, and plastic sandbags are prohibited. Missing proper weights or a white-top tent can cause removal and forfeiture of fees.

Friday setup begins November 20 at 6:30 AM; all booths must be open by 10 AM. Load-in and teardown require a dolly/wagon and carrying items across cobblestones. Unloading on River Street is limited to 30 minutes, after which vehicles must move immediately to parking. Friday load-in is standard; Saturday walk-in from 8–8:30 AM is allowed only with previous participation and advance approval, by dolly only. Check in with photo identification and display a parking pass. The source’s no-show rule requires checking in or calling the festival emergency number by Friday at 8 AM; otherwise the space is forfeited without refund. Festival hours are Friday and Saturday 10 AM–6 PM and Sunday 10 AM–4 PM. Load-in, load-out, and other instructions are sent through Zapp; artists must monitor their associated email.

The event is rain or shine with no rain date. Applications are non-refundable. The refund policy says cancellations at least 90 days before the event receive credit toward the next scheduled show, there are no refunds within 60 days, credits must be used within one calendar year, and fees applied to previously canceled shows and jury-exempt reservations are non-refundable. It also says credits must be applied to the show for which they were given and cannot transfer to another show; clarify these conflicting credit provisions. Artists using credit must still apply, meet deadlines, and notify the director. Weather and other specified cancellations, removal for rule violations, and inadequate tent weights do not receive refunds. Pandemic cancellation/postponement provisions instead offer credit and a Zapp code. Exhibitors bear responsibility for their property and injuries; the rules advise obtaining insurance at their own expense.