The Kitchener-Waterloo Knitters' Guild

Information for Knitters' Fair Vendors

Last year’s Fair was very successful – our largest attendance ever at over 1,800 visitors. Our Fair seems to have struck a cord with knitters and our feedback from you is to just keep on doing what we’re doing – stick to the knitting and a one day show! So, once again, the K-W Knitters’ Guild is pleased to invite you to participate in the Waterloo County Knitters’ Fair on Saturday, September 12, 2009 at Bingemans.

If you did not attend last year, please note that Bingemans has a new and improved entrance which begins at the intersection of Lackner and Victoria. A new road was built extending Lackner and Bingemans' address is now 425 Bingemans Centre Drive. It is much easier to find their entrance now. See our directions page for detailed directions and maps.

The Fair will be held in Marshall Hall and the Ballroom in the Bingemans Conference Centre. As in the past, spaces will be allocated on a first come first served basis. You will have easy access through the back loading area, with plenty of parking behind the conference building. Everything is at street level – no stairs or ramps.

Set Up Friday Night

Unless you are located in the area, we strongly suggest you not leave your travelling and set-up until Saturday morning. The Kitchener Waterloo region is growing rapidly and traffic is quite heavy at times if you are coming from the Toronto area. If you need accommodation information, please reference the Kitchener or Waterloo City Web sites.

You may set up your booth on Friday evening, September 11th, 2009, between 6:00 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. Again this year we will be requiring all vendors to leave the room sharply at 9:30 p.m., whether you have finished or not. We suggest you bring sheets to cover your materials as a deterrent against theft. The doors will open again early Saturday morning at 7:00 a.m. for setting up, before opening for the public at 9:30. We ask that you please complete your set-up by 9:30 and we must insist that all aisles be completely free by 9:30 for safety reasons and so as not to violate our city permit.

Booth Size & Cost

The Fair is not a profit-making venture. However, we do attempt to balance our expenses with our door receipts and vendor revenue. The rental rates have increased over the last three years while our vendor fees have remained the same, so this year our vendor fees will be increasing to $200 per space. The entrance fee will remain at $5 for this year.

Each space will be 10’x10’, maximum 3 spaces per vendor. Each space is draped at the back (8’ high) and sides (3’high) and includes one 8’ table and one chair. The tables are either draped or skirted. We ask that signs not be displayed any higher than your draped backdrop. Electricity (for cash registers) is available at each space. The lighting is quite good but you may bring spotlights if you wish. We do not provide computer lines for direct debit or computers.

Fair Promotion

Based on surveys we have conducted of attendees, we have found our most successful marketing techniques include: postcard mailings, yarn store promotions, newsletters, radio advertising, local TV interviews, and Internet exposure. You may not be aware that our volunteers maintain a mailing list of our attendees (based on the ballots they complete) and each year we send prior attendees postcards reminding them of the upcoming Fair. This list has grown steadily to several thousand. We also advertise in several craft newspapers and magazines. However, our postcards (some 15,000 of them) have been an extremely successful and economical way of promoting the Fair. If you have a newsletter that could accommodate a stuffer or insert, please let me know your expected mailing date and the number of cards you would require. I will happily send you an additional supply.

Registration

To reserve your place at this year’s Fair, please complete the registration form, make your cheque payable to the K-W Knitters’ Fair, and send your form and payment to Louise Krmpotic at the address shown on the registration form. The registration form is in Portable Document File (PDF) format. You will need Adobe Acrobat Reader in order to print it. You can download Acrobat Reader free here.

Please note that only registrations with full payment will be accepted. Please do not postdate your cheque and do not send cash or a money order (as they cannot be easily traced). If you do not receive your confirmation from me before August 1st, it is very likely I did not receive your registration. If you are registered, but unable to attend, a full refund will be provided if we are notified prior to August 1st. No refunds will be issued after that date.

A Few More Items

  • The Fair is for knitting related products only. Last year, there were a number of vendors that were selling non-knitting items, such as sewing kits, weaving, and crochet. You are free to use props in your booth for display purposes, but anyone selling non-knitting items will be asked to remove them from display.
  • We hope to have a Fashion Show again this year and further information will follow.
  • If you have a Web site, please offer a link to us at "www.kwknittersguild.ca" and as we receive registrations we will update our link for your Web site and/or email address on our vendors page.
  • We also remind all vendors that the show is from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and vendors should not be packing up before 4:30 p.m.

If you have any questions regarding the Fair, please send e-mail to knittersfair@kwknittersguild.ca.