Open · Closes in 122 days
Applications close
Mar 1, 202711:59 PM EST122 days left to apply
Closes Mar 1, 2027 · 122 days left
Open · Closes in 122 days
Applications close
Mar 1, 202711:59 PM EST122 days left to apply
Closes Mar 1, 2027 · 122 days left
University museum · Lakeland, FL, United States · 1 program
Mayfaire by-the-Lake is a juried, fine arts festival held on the shores of Lake Morton in downtown Lakeland, Florida. This two-day, free community festival, traditionally held on Mother's Day weekend, is a premier fine arts festival in Florida. Attendance is approximately 10,000 and award money is $17,000. We are celebrating our 55th year and have been voted as one of the Best Fine Art Festivals on the Sunshine Artist 200 List in 2026.
Please be sure to read all information. Please be sure your artwork falls into the appropriate category. We are considered a fine art festival and not a craft show. All artwork must be original (one of a kind) and handmade by the applicant. Buy/Sell work is strictly prohibited and may result in removal from the show.
Begun as a crafts fair on the lawn of the Lakeland Public Library, Mayfaire by-the-Lake, coordinated by the Ashley Gibson Barnett Museum (AGB) at Florida Southern College, has grown into one of Florida's premier outdoor art festivals. Held on Mother's Day weekend each year, Mayfaire is located on the shores of beautiful Lake Morton in downtown Lakeland, Florida. Artists set up on the grass on one side of the lake only. Mayfaire is one of the largest and oldest outdoor art festivals in Central Florida.
Submit your application online at Zapplication.org and pay the non refundable $40 administration fee.
A panel of five experienced jurors selects the artists to be invited to participate in Mayfaire. Jurying is anonymous and based solely on the images submitted. Highest scores are invited to exhibit. Artists with next highest scores are offered the opportunity to be placed on a wait list.
Musicians are juried separately by the Mayfaire Committee by submitting a sample CD and image of their booth.
Award Winners are selected by ONE judge and selections are made without regard to category. Judging for all awards will be based on the overall quality of all work shown rather than that of individual pieces. Musicians are not eligible for Show Awards.
(Food products and live plants are not a permitted category and should not apply.)
Mayfaire is open to fine artists displaying their own original work. No agents or dealers allowed. This show is not for commercial dealers. Only one medium category per booth space is allowed. Buy/sell artwork strictly prohibited.
Artists are permitted to display only their own work in each space. A "two-person team" may share a space if their work is a joint effort. Such work will be judged as a single entry.
Artists may apply for more than one category, but a separate application must be completed for each category. Each application must include an administration fee and its own set of images.
Artists must provide and be responsible for their own tents, equipment, display racks, tables, chairs, etc.
Staking anything into the ground or tying tents to trees, poles, or other City property is not allowed anywhere in Lake Morton Park or on the street, as major utility lines run underneath the lakeshore ground.
Artists must be physically present during the entire show and the booth staffed at all times. No proxy or stand-in exhibitors will be permitted. Show times are 9AM - 4PM.
All artists are responsible for collecting Florida Sales Tax, 7%, on all sales during the festival and must fulfill reporting requirements for the Florida Department of Revenue.
Only original works are eligible for judging. All reproductions whether framed or unframed must be clearly and individually labeled "REPRODUCTION" or "LIMITED EDITION REPRODUCTION," and must be signed and numbered. Framed reproductions may be displayed in browse bins and/or hung on ONE wall of the booth, not to exceed 10 linear feet. All unframed reproductions must be displayed in bins. Commercial items, "buy/sell," or work from kits are strictly prohibited.
Single booth: $425.00 (minimum size: 12' X 10') Double booth (limited availability): $850 Single premium booth: $475.00 (minimum size: 12'x10'), located in the center of the show
No electricity or water hookup is available. There is drive-thru check-in on Friday and easy curbside loading and unloading. Booths may not be set up any earlier than 11:00 a.m. on Friday.
There is a strict no refund policy for the administration/application fee. A $390 Single/$440 Premier refund per space cancellation refund will be given to exhibitors if they can be replaced by an artist on the wait list. Refund requests must be emailed to mayfaire@agbmuseum.org by April 10, 2027.
Average number of applications submitted each year: 250. Average number of artists selected from the jury to participate: 145. Average number of exempt-from-jury artists invited: 17. Jurors score applications on a 1-7 scale, with 5 jurors scoring a single jury panel covering all medium categories, separately from various locations. The jury process is closed.
Artist awards totaling $17,000: Best of Show $5,000; 2 Awards of Excellence at $2,000; 4 Awards of Distinction at $1,000; 6 Merit Awards at $500; 5 Honorable Mention Awards at $200.
Booth Space · 12' x 10' (minimum)
Compensation details
Award Winners are selected by ONE judge, without regard to category, based on the overall quality of all work shown rather than individual pieces. Only original, one-of-a-kind works made by the artist/applicant are eligible for judging. Musicians are not eligible for Show Awards.
One item to prepare.
Disciplines: Clay, Digital Art, Drawing & Graphics, Fiber Arts, Glasswork, Jewelry Design, Mixed Media, Music Composition, Painting Oil & Acrylic, Painting Watercolor, Photography, Sculpture, Woodwork
Individual artists and collectives
Requirements
Applications close
Mar 1, 202711:59 PM EST
A panel of five experienced jurors selects the artists to be invited to participate. Jurying is anonymous and based solely on the images submitted; highest scores are invited to exhibit, and the next highest scores are placed on a wait list. The show organizes a single jury panel that scores applications for all medium categories, with jurors scoring separately from various locations. The jury process is closed to observation.
Jury
University museum · Lakeland, FL, United States
Free-admission academic and community art museum at Florida Southern College in Lakeland, Florida.
More about eligibility
Mayfaire is open to fine artists displaying their own original, one-of-a-kind, handmade work. No agents or dealers allowed; this show is not for commercial dealers. Buy/sell artwork is strictly prohibited. Musicians are juried separately by the Mayfaire Committee and are not eligible for Show Awards. Artists must be physically present during the entire show with the booth staffed at all times; no proxy or stand-in exhibitors are permitted.
If an artist received an award in the 2026 Mayfaire by-the-Lake, they are automatically accepted into the show under the same category.
One item to prepare.