Cherrywood Art Fair: Visitor FAQ

Cherrywood Art Fair is an art-filled two-day event showcasing handmade culture from Texas artists, live music, great food, and fun activities for children in a FREE, family-friendly environment. Now in its 17th year with more than 85 artists, Cherrywood Art Fair has established itself as one of the premiere art fairs in Austin!
For the real nitty-gritty, Cherrywood Art Fair is an annual production of Chula League, an East Austin 501(c)3 nonprofit. Proceeds benefit Chula League’s Little Artist BIG ARTIST Program, and the Chula League mission to support arts, art education, and artful outdoor spaces in East Austin.

No! The Cherrywood Art Fair will be open for business – rain, sleet or shine! Break out the winter clothes and keep your plans to join us. Once you’re at the Fair grab a cup of Hot Cocoa or some warm snacks from our Foodpalooza vendors.  Snuggle up under a patio heater while you’re shopping at some of the outside artists tents or head on inside for our 45 indoor makers, auction and kids art corner.

Friendly, leashed dogs are welcome for outside shopping on the school grounds. Dogs cannot be brought inside the school unless they are a service dog or a small dog that can be carried. Pet-oriented gift options can be found in the Kids & Pets category.

The 2018 poster was illustrated by Michael Sieben with design work from Pentagram. The 2017 poster saw another design from Pentagram with artwork and hand lettering from Caitlin B Alexander. 2016 featured design and illustrations by Megan Mead and Karissa Cardoza at Texas Born & Wed. The 2015 poster was illustrated by Laura Fisk of Fisk and Fern fame and designed by the talented Jess Warren of Hey Jess Graphic Design. 2014 saw another design from Carla Delgado with artwork and poster silkscreening from Jess Moss at Hotline ink. The 2013 poster was designed by Carla Delgado using fair photography from Roy Moore. The 2012 poster featured a new logo and design by Southern Combustion Creative with a central image by Melissa Gable. The 2011 poster featured artwork from Melissa Gable and layout design by Ed Arevalo. The 2006 through 2010 posters were designed by Melissa Gable. The 2003 through 2005 posters were designed by Liz Potter. The 2002 poster was designed by Marilyn Fenn.

Nope, generally speaking, we don’t sell ‘em unless we have a limited edition of silkscreened posters. If you are smart, you’ve collected them and framed them like we have. Come double check at the Chula League table in the cafeteria at the Fair, and see our framed collection in the hallway. It’s an eyeful!

A a printable version of the Cherrywood Art Fair Booth Map will be available for download in October. It will have a guide to ARTISTS, MAKERS, FOOD, and a schedule with the MUSIC LINEUP and FAMILY FUN ACTIVITIES. Maps are also available all three entrance doors during the Fair, but if you get it now you can lay out your PERSONAL SHOPPING ROUTE!

Cherrywood Art Fair is held on the campus of the beloved Maplewood Elementary School, located in the heart of East Austin, at the corner of 38 ½ Street and Maplewood Avenue. The Maplewood Elementary facility was built in 1948, and provides a unique backdrop to the down-home friendliness of the Fair.

Maplewood Elementary School
3808 Maplewood Avenue
Austin, Texas 78722

There are plenty of bus routes and we always welcome bicyclists! Cherrywood Art Fair has disabled parking and is handicap accessible.

Cherrywood Art Fair is on the second weekend of December each year.

The Cherrywood Art Fair is FREE to the public but donations are always welcome. Come on down to see us! We promise there’s nothing else like it! All donations and will support the little artist BIG ARTIST Program.

There will be 85+ artists at the Fair, offering art in these categories:

3D ART (sculpture, wood, metal, etc.)
BEAUTY & SPA (soaps, skincare, candles, hair accessories, etc.)
CERAMICS & POTTERY
FINE ART (drawings & paintings in pencil, pastels, oils, acrylics, watercolors, etc.)
HOME GOODS (décor, frames, glasses, kitchen items, phone cases, planters)
JEWELRY
KIDS & PETS (toys, games, clothes / pet toys & accessories)
PHOTOGRAPHY (color, black & white, digital collage, etc.)
PRINTS & PAPER GOODS (card sets, journals, prints, comic books, posters)
TEXTILES & APPAREL (clothing, hats, bags, purses, belts, scarves, tapestries)

Price points for art range from tens to hundreds of dollars, and there is something for everyone on your holiday gift list, and for yourself as well.

Pedicabs, Valet Service and Capital Metro – oh my!
Planning on parking a block or two over? Walking to the fair? No problem, our FREE pedicabs can take you, your family and handmade gifts back to your home or car! Driving in? We’ll have $5.00 valet service both days! Love your bike? Ride it over – there are more bike racks this year! Taking the train or bus? Show us your ticket and get a free hot chocolate from the fine folks at Fiesta.

Additionally, here are our top five Parking Tips to make Cherrywood Art Fair your favorite way to shop local and support your artists!

*Get to the Fair Early*
Early bird gets the worm. Put your winter coat over your pajamas (you’ll look uber hip and relaxed) and cruise on over to the fair. You can get a great cup of coffee, breakfast for your family and a KILLER parking space.

*Carpool*
Friends don’t let Friends Shop Alone! Call your favorite weekend shopping buddies and carpool over to Cherrywood Art Fair.

*Bike over to Cherrywood*
We have plenty of bike racks. So throw an empty backpack on and bike to the fair. You’ll be sure to stuff your napsack with lots of gifts and burn some holiday calories along the way.

*Take the City Bus*
If you didn’t know it already, kids love to ride the city bus! Catch the city bus down to the fair and enjoy snuggling up with your loved ones and enjoy the site-seeing on the way to the fair. There’s a bus stop right next to the Fair! Using Capital Metro’s trip planner makes it super easy.

*Be Prepared to Walk*
We’re not gonna lie Folks, Cherrywood Art Fair is in the heart of the Cherrywood Neighborhood, not a strip mall. Make sure to don your sporty shoes and enjoy the neighborhood’s creative landscaping as you walk to the fair.

Note: Disabled Parking is located on Maplewood Avenue near the parking lot entrance. Directional signs will be posted.

Applications are open to all Texas artists. Cherrywood Art Fair is a juried event. We look at quality, diversity of media, and other criteria when selecting our vendors. This assures a quality product sold in a quality environment. NO JUNK, NO KIDDING! We have 85 booths, and we allow for at least 20% new artists each year.

As Cherrywood Art Fair has grown, our show has become more and more competitive. If you are interested in applying for our next show, mark your calendar for when applications open next summer, visit our website subscribe to the newsletter and like or follow us on social media for application details.

Please sign up for our mailing list (look in the footer for a place to submit your email address)! We’ll keep you apprised of volunteer, sponsorship, shopper and event information!

Come hungry ‘cause the ‘Food Palooza’ will feature some of the best local food artisans in the area! Food trucks will be set up near the outdoor stage and yummy dessert vendors will be inside. The 2017 food artisans were:

INSIDE:

• Nothing Bundt Cakes – Made fresh daily using real eggs, real butter, and real cream cheese, Nothing Bundt Cakes are hand made, premium quality desserts with an irresistible taste and a timeless aesthetic. Our individual size bundtlets will be featured in an assortment of 5 flavors. We will also be sampling all 5 flavors each day.
• AustiNuts – austiNuts is an Austin based company specializing in dry roasted nuts, healthy snacks, gourmet chocolate and candies.

OUTSIDE:

• Jack Hates Coffee – Mobile espresso truck featuring locally roasted, organic fair trade coffee beans
• Mmmpanadas – We hand make our empanadas from start to finish. They are individual little works of art. We use fresh real ingredients with zero preservatives and zero trans fat. Our menu ranges from Green Chile Chicken Empanadas to Vegan Black Bean to Peach Cobbler. We’ve got you covered!
• Texas Chili Queens – Inspired by the original chili queens from the late 19th century, the new food truck Texas Chili Queens brings back the classic Texas street food with a twist!
• Stonys Pizza – Stonys pizza is a father son business started in 2007. Steven and Anthony Cohn have been serving some of the best NY style pizza in the ATX. Coming from Boston by way of California and Hawaii, we have been doing our best to try to keep austin weird one phat slice at a time