Apply to the Moonlight Market
Applications for Fall/Winter 2024 are OPEN!
What you need to know
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To Apply, Artists/Makers will need:
to complete the online application by the deadline on the application.
to pay a $25 non-refundable application fee by the deadline on the application.
to be registered (or be willing to if chosen) with the WV State TAX Department for a Business Certificate
to be willing to obtain a Hawker Peddler Permit from the City of Morgantown
to save all required quality photos of products/services/food and display AS YOUR BUSINESS NAME
a WHITE tent (we have one to borrow for free and others to rent)
to be responsible for your tables, displays and a 10’x10’ WHITE tent* with weights and sides (in case of wind or rain). *We reserve the right to make exceptions for non-profits or specific food makers on food row.
to promote the Moonlight Market and their presence at it
to be able to provide a certificate of insurance OR willing to sign a waiver
be responsible for your own parking on the day of your scheduled event
to complete a layout survey before scheduled event(s) and a post survey to include sales (for grant purposes)
artists, makers, entertainers & musicians are required to be set up 20 minutes before start time and stay until the end even if they sell out.
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The Moonlight Market is a monthly outdoor event held from May through November.
Dates for the 2024 are as follows: May 18, June 15, July 20, August 17, Sept. 28, Oct 26 all from 4-9pm and Nov 30 from 2-8pm
There is an non-refundable application fee due at time of application submission
This event is for handmade items only, no direct sales/marketing or mass produced items. This means that the items sold must be at least 75% made by your hands (not assembled).
Artists for the Moonlight Market are juried, which means that a group of volunteers of various backgrounds, professionals and identities decide who attends using a rubric of our standards as a tool to help eliminate bias (amongst others things)
Food Makers and Interactive Vendors are not juried and scheduled by the Event Organizer, Pascha Adamo
As a juried event, each group of applicants is juried against that group (like the LSATs)
if you make multiple items or work in multiple mediums, you must provide pictures of each item you wish to be juried on for the application
if submitting different types of art/multiple mediums, the jury holds the right to deny a particular type of art/medium for a specific date or artist
JEWELERS: Note: This category is very competitive and priority is given to those who make as much as of their jewelry as possible
Two artists cannot share a booth unless they are part of YAP! (Youth Artrepreneur Program) or the Writer’s Block)
We make it a habit not to double up on the same or similar artist/maker at an event/per date (ex: two people selling tea won’t happen but you may find two painters whose style is quite different).
Dates selected on the application are your availability only.
If selected, you will be notified of your dates to approve or decline.
Applications are NOT accepted on a rolling basis due to our city permit requirements, marketing plan and organization structure.
The Moonlight Market is a rain or shine event
Electrical outlets are located every 20-25ish feet on both sides of the pavilion and another high voltage outlet towards the back for food trucks and musicians
There are clean bathrooms on site maintained by the City of Morgantown
Food is provided for the Artists, Entertainers and Musicians and varies from month to month
Social media is not required, but strongly encouraged and participants active in promoting their attendance at the Moonlight Market are preferred
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Food and Beverage Makers are to make 75%-100% of what they sell.
Makers are chosen and scheduled by the Event Organizer, Pascha Adamo, to expedite the scheduling process.
There is a non-refundable application fee of $25. We understand that this is not typical for this area, but is necessary for the Moonlight Market to continue providing an entertaining and safe event for our community.
Set up fees are based on space required and is staggered in price: 10’x10’: $75, 10’x20’ is $100 and 10x30’ is $125.
At least two food trucks (different styles/flavors/food) and one beverage truck is scheduled per event.
Food trucks and tents are lined up in the back row for accessibility to a main electrical outlet and for easy in and out parking.
We have numbers last year to help prepare for this year and will continue to communicate plates/people served from month to month to help the next month prepare.
21/22 of the food trucks sold out in 2023, many in just a couple of hours.
We schedule 3-4 different type of baked goods per show and nearly everyone has sold out every time.
Makers are asked to complete a layout survey before each event to help Pascha accommodate their needs.
Makers are asked to complete a post-event survey to give insight on what went well and what could be improved. This type of community engagement from our Artists and Makers has helped to make the Moonlight Market a fun, pleasant and profitable experience for everyone.
Our crowds are large, continually growing, and they come to eat!
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All interested participants (artists, makers, entertainers, musicians, etc) must pay a Non-Refundable application fee of $25 plus tax for each season. This minimal fee helps to cover costs associated with sorting, organizing, scheduling and communication beforehand.
A 10’x10’ space is $75* plus tax for Artists, Makers and Entertainers.
All payments will be made through the Shop of the Moonlight Market website so that participants can receive a receipt upon check-out for tax purposes.
*Food Makers requiring more space will have a staggered amount based on our Equity Clause
The application fee must be received by the deadline in order for the application to be reviewed.
A grace period of three days is given for all payment deadlines and then a late fee of $25 will be assessed.
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The Moonlight Market defines “Entertainers” as any person, group, organization or business that provides a service for a cost to the patron which is either fun or functional.
Examples of Entertainers: permanent jewelry, hat bar, live printing (press or relief block or screen printing), henna tattoo, balloon artist, caricature artist, artists workshop (held in our DIY tent space), face painting, etc
Interactive Vendors pay an application fee and a booth fee, and keep all of their earnings like the Artists and Makers. The interactive vendors in the past have had some of the biggest lines, non-stop customers, add to the fun and attraction of the Moonlight Market and always do very well.
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Musicians are asked to complete an intake form so that we can be more efficient with our communication.
We schedule two sets per night: a 2 hour and a 2.5 hour set. Please note your preference on the intake form.
Rate is negotiable, but due to the low booth fees for Artists and Makers, we must cap the hourly rate.
Once the schedule has been approved by everyone, we close the intake form.
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In order for the Moonlight Market to hold space for various artists, makers, interactive vendors and musicians, we aim to treat everyone equitably instead of placing the burden of costs solely on the booth fee of the Artists. Therefore,
all interested parties will complete an application fee with musicians chosen being asked to pay a promotional fee once scheduled in lieu of the application fee;
those who need assistance, either with the rental of a tent or a lower booth fee can note that on their application for consideration;
up to six participants for each market will be selected to receive a space at a reduced rate.
booth fees for Food and Beverage trucks and tents are staggered at a lower rate, so instead of a 10’x20’ space being $150, it is only $100, and a 10’x30’ space is $125 instead of $225.
What Artists & Makers have to say…
What Makes the Moonlight Market Different?
We are a juried market. A jury of 2-4 anonymous volunteers plus Event Organizer, Pascha Adamo, sort through the applications and grade each entry using a 5 point rubric system. The only information given to the jurors are photos of the work and a photo of the display. Business names are replaced with letters and each letter is assigned to a business that only Pascha knows. This is to ensure that the jurors are making decisions based solely on the work and not personal relationships. Jurors are rotated for each season and at least one or two jurors do not live in the state. This is to further eliminate favoritism.
We are an Equitable Market. This means that one type of business is not given special treatment over another. Each artists, maker, baker, food truck, etc (1) must pay an application fee, (2) is graded using a rubric, (3) must pay for the space they occupy relative to everyone else, (4) is rotated around the pavilion space, (5) is not schedule in back-to-back shows, and (6) social media promotion and day-of presentation is graded using a rubric for fairness and consistency.
NEW! Online Gallery of Participating Artists & Makers for each show
Layout Surveys: We give each participating artist & maker the opportunity to share their preferences for setting up, placement, and concerns pertaining to social/emotional or cognitive needs to make their experience at the Moonlight Market the BEST experience. We take these surveys seriously, value the insight and use the information to make the best layout we can for our artists, makers and patrons. This is an expectation of the chosen participants.
Post Surveys: We offer each participating artist and maker the opportunity to share their experience and feedback about their time at the Moonlight Market in a post-event survey. This is not only needed to complete information for various grants and funding we have been gifted with, but also to assess the experience for the artists and makers to ensure that we are living up to our mission and providing a positive, equitable and profitable market for all.
Feedback: After each market, we will be offering feedback for anyone who wants it. This will be a collective list of pros and areas of improvement compiled from the observations and interactions of 1-2 attending jurors and Pascha Adamo.
Dinner for You! We provide dinner, snacks and bottled water for the attending Artists and Maker free of charge!
Grant Funded: Due to the low booth fee of a market this size (and profitable), we must supplement it with sponsorship and grant funding. For this reason, each Artists and Maker will be required to disclose their profit at the end of each market night. This is done anonymously.
A For Artists by an Artist Market: The Event Coordinator is also a working artist and children’s book author and storyteller. She designed this market using her experience as an Assistant Director of Student Activities, a teacher, traveling artist, and a patron.