Written by: Daniel Dodsworth (@doubledods)
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Thank you so much for hosting a booth at our 4/20 Lake David Park Anime in the Park (AITP) event!
This page will house all the information you need to run your booth successfully.
Tent/Canopy Requirements
- No stakes allowed!
- Must use weights on each leg of the canopy (35 lbs each leg)
- Standard canopy size is 10′ x 10′
The City of Groveland does not allow stakes to be driven into the ground because of the irrigation system. Please do NOT poke any holes in the park’s ground! Seriously. That will get us in trouble and make us all look bad. Weights are required because we don’t want your tent flying away and causing damage. The site plan is based on everyone having a 10×10 tent. If you are bringing anything other than one 10×10 foot canopy, let us know ahead of time, and we can probably work it in!
Setup and Teardown
- Setup starts at 9am (if you want to get there earlier, please Contact us)
- Check in with a volunteer first to go through placement (or find me around the DJ booth area)
- Teardown can begin at 6pm, or if you want to stay for the full event, teardown starts around 8:30pm
The advertised pop-up marketplace will be from:
10am – 6pm
This gives you all the chance to shut down before it gets dark (around 8ish). Around that 6pm mark the event is going to shift to focus more on dancing/flow arts, and start preparing for the sunset fire spinning performance. You are more than welcome to stay the entire event. We would love that. But we also know that it’s a long day, and breaking down in the dark can be rough.
The total event hours are from:
10am – 8:30pm
If you choose to stay the entire event, we may brand that as the “afterhours market.” Those tent positions will likely be closer to the stage.
Before the show, we will be sending everyone an online preflight check-in questionnaire to see what time you plan to arrive and leave. Please let us know ahead of time so we can plan accordingly!
Leave No Trace
Please leave the space the same or better as when you found it. Remove all trash, debris, etc. Be careful with the grass. Clean up your space completely.
Placement
We will all work together to get your booth location set. AITP will try to put you in the spot you want, but there’s no guarantees. The preflight check-in form will let you provide your input preferences (location, who you want to be next to, etc.)
When you arrive, please utilize only the space you’re allotted. We have a lot of tents to fit into a relatively small space, so everyone will need to be be exact when setting up. Volunteers will be available to answer placement questions. Please speak with someone wearing a Volunteer badge before setting up. The site will be marked up with yard flags when you arrive.
Current layout:
Parking
The City of Groveland has provided this parking map:
#1 will be a good area for loading/unloading booths near the amphitheater. We may also be able to utilize N Lake Ave that has some street parking.
#2 is a paved lot we can try to reserve for artists/vendors. This is probably the best parking spot.
#3 is a grassy lot that we will try to reserve for artists/vendors. PLEASE DO NOT DOUBLE PARK OR BLOCK ANYONE IN! If you want to help us manage parking, please sign up for a Volunteer shift and specify parking in the text field.
#3A is a bus parking lot with loooooooong spaces. We can use it on Saturday, because there’s no school.
It’s a good idea to Google Maps everything first so you get a lay of the land.
Vehicles are not allowed on the actual park (with the amphitheater and trails).
DO NOT DRIVE YOUR VEHICLE ONTO THE PARK’S GRASS!
Note that we will not have access to building #4 for AC or restrooms.
Buddy up with your booth neighbors and/or bring friends to help you out, especially covering for restroom breaks and getting food and stuff. This event will be a worthwhile challenge! It’s sort of like camping, but only for one day.
Restrooms
Permanent restrooms are located down S Lake Ave. near the Splash Pad. If you GPS the Lake David Skatepark it will take you to the general location, and then you just need to walk towards the water. Keep in mind this is a 2-3 minute walk from the main park we’re using.
We also have an ADA porta potty installed on Cherry St. This one is a little closer, just in case you really need to go. There’s also a hand washing station here.
PRO TIP: Please close the lid of the porta potty toilet when you’re done. This allows the stinky gases to float through the stinky spout, and not fill the porta potty itself. I don’t know the official names for these things. Also, most porta pottys have a urinal to the side, so use that if it makes sense for your situation, and keep the lid closed. Also please don’t flush anything other than toilet paper down. Bring some baggies or something you can stick anything else in, then carry those to a trash can. We don’t want this thing looking like a porta potty you’d find at 4am at a music festival. Let’s try to keep it nice!
Food
There’s a lot of good authentic Mexican restaurants in the area within walking distance. If you’re vegetarian or have dietary restrictions, you should definitely bring your own food packed in a cooler or something.
Power
There’s no electricity at the booths, but we will have a charging area near the amphitheater. Feel free to stop by and charge your devices around the DJ Booth and at the Recharging Lounge (A5).
Disclaimers
This event is grass roots and may not have a huge number of attendees. That doesn’t mean we won’t have a good time though. Sometimes smaller conventions spawn the best connections. But we’re not MegaCon. If having thousands of people passing by your tent is a requirement, then this may not be the convention for you. Then again, as momentum builds, there’s really no telling how packed this venue could be.
It’s up to you to decide if this experience is valuable enough for you to commit an entire day of effort to. I don’t want to scare you away, but I do want everyone to know what they’re getting into and what to expect, with full transparency.
Disclaimers:
- There is no guarantee of huge crowds, and you might not make any money
- You are going to be outside in the elements all day with no A/C
Be prepared to let this be a labor of love. It may be a difficult experience. But it’s packed with a lot of possibilities. Are you still with us? Hope so! Let’s flip the disclaimers upside down with possibilities.
Possibilities:
- This event could see large crowds that want to spend their money on your creations
- The weather could be perfect for staying outside all day under shade
Rewards
There are several non-financial rewards that you will get for participating in AITP as an artist or vendor. These benefits will come to fruition even if the turnout is small:
- Being promoted on our website and social media platforms
- Meeting other artists
- Taking photos of your booth for promotional use
- Introducing your art to new people
- Building bonds with local communities
- Having fun camping out with like-minded people!
Still though, AITP wants to see artists get paid. More people showing up means more money to be made. We’re promoting attendance through the following mechanisms:
- Investing in advertisements
- Producing quality marketing material
- Building hyperlocal support
- Placing fliers around towns
- Instagram and Facebook
- Our website
- Being super organized and trying our hardest to make this dream come to life
Help us spread the word too! Use the hashtag #animeinthepark and tag us on ig: @animeinthepark
Cancelation
If you feel that AITP isn’t for you, please mail, text/call, or use the Contact page to cancel. This will open up the spot for someone else, and help keep our site planning organized. Please don’t ghost us!
Payment
Artists: $20 due on or before the day of show
Vendors: $60 due on or before the day of show
No refunds
No cancelation fees
Payment methods: Zelle, PayPal, CashApp, or cash.
Social Media Promotion
Tag our page on Instagram (@animeinthepark) and we will try to re-share your content.
Use the hash tag #animeinthepark in your posts to generate momentum.
More Coming Soon
This page will be updated as new information and confirmations arrive.
Please also read the Artist and Vendor Survival Guide for more general details, and to get an idea of the culture we’re trying to foster.