Carefree Fine Art & Wine Festival 2027 - 32nd Annual Spring - Thunderbird Artists

This award-winning, Spring Carefree Fine Art & Wine Festival is produced by Thunderbird Artists, in conjunction with One Million Entrepreneurs and is officially the Town of Carefree's Signature Event. This nationally acclaimed fine art festival in Carefree is widely known as "...a collector's paradise."

Thunderbird Artists Mission is to promote fine art and fine crafts, paralleled with the ambiance of unique wines and fine music, while supporting the artists, merchants and surrounding communities.

General information

Deadline: October 7th, 2026

Notification date: October 21st, 2026

Accept or decline invitation deadline: November 30, 2026

December 1st - removal of any artists who have not accepted or declined our invitation. If any space remains available and a removed artist wishes to participate, they must reapply with Thunderbird Artists paper application.

Marketing/space fee deadline: November 30 (At least 1/2 down by this date.)

No refunds: January 22nd, 2027

This unique Town is nestled in the foothills of the Sonoran desert, bordering Scottsdale to the north. The streets of Downtown Carefree are closed, making room for 160 artists. Well established as collector's shows, the Carefree festival draws a qualified, knowledgeable and affluent clientele who enjoy the finer things in life.

Rules and regulations

• All work must be original, handcrafted, created and exhibited by the artist. No open-ended edition prints permitted. At least 65% of displayed work must be original art. Kits, imports and mass produced items are prohibited. No clothing, hobby or bazaar type articles.
• All categories must be juried prior to acceptance. Any media NOT accepted through the jury process shall be removed. Separate images and jury fee are required for acceptance of more than one medium.
• If two or more persons collaborate to produce original work, each person must be identified on the application.
• There will be a $25 fee for all bank returned checks, cancellations and foreign funds.
• Artist must acquire proper state and city/town tax license/permits.
• Artist provides own display, which must be weighted, sturdy, safe, clean and tidy. Artist is responsible for his/her own display in the case of loss or damage. Tables must be covered to the ground and all storage and supplies must be neatly covered. All paintings must hang – with consideration for oversized work.
• Staking into the pavement or grass is NOT allowed, unless specific instructions are given.
• Exhibitor's display at the event must represent artwork submitted for the jury of this event. Misrepresentation of a display will result in expulsion from the festival without refund. Upgrades are acceptable, but Thunderbird Artists must be notified of change and receive new booth shot.
• All tents must be solid white and flame retardant.
• Handwritten signs and sale signs are prohibited. No soliciting political or religious materials or imposing views on customers or fellow artists.
• All work, display and storage must stay within designated space. There is no extending, unless specified.
• The exhibitor's space shall be occupied by 9am the first morning of the show, otherwise the exhibitor will be considered a "NO SHOW" and his/her space may be given away with no possible refund.
• Exhibitors must park in designated artist parking area.
• Set-up and breakdown times will be strictly enforced. You must arrive within the specified times. Breakdown will not begin until the end of the show and vehicles will not be permitted into show area until all patrons have left the grounds, usually within 15 minutes.
• Absolutely no pets on festival grounds. Artists staying in overnight area must clean up after pets in parking area.
• Artists must utilize assigned space during published festival hours and will confine all sales/display activity to assigned space. All space assignments are final decisions of Thunderbird Artists and Thunderbird Artists reserve the right to change or modify space locations as they may deem necessary.
• All rules will be strictly enforced. Failure to comply with rules or unruly behavior (including intoxication or verbal abuse) by an exhibitor or assistant(s) will require immediate expulsion from the present event and will eliminate exhibitor from future events. Thunderbird Artists reserves the right to make final interpretation of all rules.

Booth information and fees

Artist participation is not confirmed until receipt of marketing/space fee.

Marketing/space fees now INCLUDE CAREFREE VENDOR PERMIT FEES and are as follows (no commission):

• 10' x 10' (+ $50 vendor permit) = $550
• 10' x 10' w/corner (+ $50 vendor permit) = $650
• 10' x 15' (+ $50 vendor permit) = $825
• 10' x 15' w/corner (+ $50 vendor permit) = $925
• 10' x 20' (+ $50 vendor permit) = $1050
• 10' x 20' w/corner (+ $50 vendor permit) = $1150

Refund and cancellation policy

Refund deadline date is January 22nd, 2027. Before the date a full refund (minus a $35 cancellation fee) will be returned. After January 22nd, refunds will not be given.

Jury details

Average number of applications submitted each year: 185

Average number of artists selected from the jury to participate in the event: 110

Average number of exempt from jury artists who are invited to participate in the event: 0

All applicants go through the jury process.

Vendors that are excluded/ineligible: No clothing, hobby or bazaar type items. Also, no imports, mass produced or commercial items.

Images are viewed by jurors on a computer monitor. Applications are sorted and viewed by application received date. Jurors score applications on a scale of 1-10, usually over 3-5 stages, with 2 jurors scoring applications as a single jury panel convened as a group in one room. The jury process is closed.