It would not be fair to judge a show by the amount of attendees, yet when attendance is understood, the numbers have a unique value to those involved.
The Florida State Fair in Tampa has around 500,000 attendees. This is much greater than the Cape Coral Art Festival but few go there to support the vendors. It lasts 12 days, meaning the day average is around 41,000. The day average at the Cape Coral Festival is roughly 70,000.
The Gasparilla Pirate Festival has around 300,000, but again, few support the exhibitors. Attending this event is about the "party." Massive one-day events like this are spread out and vendors often never get seen, where the CC Art Festival is up one street and down another, so each exhibitor has equal chances of being seen.
The Miami Boat Show has spectators from all over the world with attendance around 100,000. While the show is an impressive experience for attendees, exhibitor fees are several times the Cape Coral Arts Festival and exhibitors complain about getting "lost" in the crowd as the show is spread out over various parts of the city.
Realistic value has two factors- if attendees return the following year, and if vendors renew their spaces by having a great show. They do! Per capita, this show has more value to exhibitors than almost every other show opportunity in the state of Florida.
The Cape Coral Art Festival is one of the most fair priced shows for exhibitors while offering a massive audience who attend for free which opens wallets up a bit more when it comes to vendor spending. Popular boat shows like Lauderdale and Miami charge large attendee fees plus $18 to $22 per square foot to display, while the Cape Coral Boat show at the Art Festival is free to attend and charges less than $3 per sq ft to display boats. Come see what you're missing out on, even if only as an attendee, and find out for yourself!
January 11-12, Cape Coral Parkway (Directions.... get close and you'll find with no problem!)