OVERVIEW
We are extremely delighted to have you as part of the A Glimpse of Africa annual cultural festival in 2023. Thank you for your continued commitment as a merchandise vendor at the A Glimpse of Africa festival, the largest African cultural festival in West Michigan. Our past festival audience was approximately over 7,000 attendees with an array of free entertainment, fashion shows, art and Merchandise from various African cultures! As we have continued to grow every year, we continue to expect a high number of attendees, and we hope together, we can make it a great, successful, and safe event!
Festival Details:
Location: Calder Plaza: 525 Ottawa Ave NW, Grand Rapids, MI 49503
Day 1: Date & Time: Saturday, August 12 10:30 am-10pm
Day 2: Date & Time: Sunday, August 13 10:30 am- 5:30pm
Event terms and conditions:
Please read and understand these policies and procedures. If accepted as a vendor, you will be expected to comply with all of them, as well as other policies listed throughout this document. Failure to comply with these policies and procedures will result in you not being allowed to return as a vendor, and/or your participation being terminated on the spot.
Set Up and Parking:
Set Up and Parking: Please plan to load-in to your assigned space by 9AM on Saturday, August 6th by driving onto Rosa Park from Monroe Center Street. You can then park at or close to your area to unload prior to moving your vehicle(s) to park elsewhere. We have included the link to Downtown Grand Rapids Inc. parking information for meters and lots: http://downtowngr.org/get/parking.
All vendor vehicles should be moved off Rosa Park Circle and Monroe Center street by 9:45 on Saturday, August 6th.
Clean Up:
During clean-up, vendors should dry sweep their area, collecting debris to deposit in the provided waste and recycling cans. We have organized with the city to provide one dumpster, recycling and trash cans that will be placed around the event venue. Please use the dumpsters instead of filling up the recycling/trash cans near your area.
TAXES/INSURANCE/
SECURITY
The Vendor agrees to obtain the proper sales tax license and agrees to be responsible for the payment of any sales tax or any other taxes and shall pay taxes to the proper government authority. Vendor agrees to hold the Organizer, City of Grand Rapids, owners, event staff, volunteers, and lessees of the property upon which the A Glimpse of Africa Festival is conducted harmless of any form of liability or claim for injury, damages, theft or any other cause whatsoever. The Organizer shall provide public security during operation time of the festival (Saturday, August 12, and Sunday, August 13, 2023); however, Vendor agrees that the Organizer is not responsible for any theft, damage or injury whatsoever of vendor, volunteers, associates, or items or equipment.
Rules
Equipment:
Vendors must bring their own equipment and supplies, including but not limited to: cash/ change,
Square or other means to receive payments, extension cords, tables, chairs, and packaging materials.
Vendor supplies:
All vendors must provide additional tables if needed, lighting, chairs and other necessary equipment to operate a self-sustaining booth. A Glimpse of Africa will try to accommodate vendors in preferred booth spaces based on a first come first serve basis; however, A Glimpse of Africa has sole discretion on vendor booth location.
Tear Down:
Load-out after the festival can begin at 9:30 PM on Saturday, August 12th and 4:30 PM on Sunday, August 13th. (NO EXCEPTIONS). Exit times/instructions will be assigned in advance, please clean up your workstation thoroughly, take your trash and left over food to the nearest dumpster, and make sure to check out with one of our food vendor leads before you leave.
Rental Tent Policy:
The vendor cannot use tape or staples on the tents but if you need to display any signs or banners you can hang from the tent pipes using a string, rope, or zip ties. When removing signage, please use clippers instead of box cutters or scissors to avoid cutting the tent. Please avoid using lights close to the tent vinyl. The vendor will be fully responsible for any tent loss or damages, missing weights, tent cover, or other tent accessories/parts.
Any Questions?
If you have any questions about the application, please contact Fridah at 616-334-8281. You can also email us at AGlimpseofAfrica@gmail.com.
Cost
Merchandise Vendor Using Your own Tent: $300
Merchandise vendor using A Glimpse of Africa materials: $375
Tent Weight requirement:
Vendors bringing their own 10*10 tent must meet the required guidelines including having tent weights which include a minimum of 25 pounds for each corner (100 pound weights minimum). Tents weights are available for rent for rent for $25