THE ultimate source for craft shows in:
 Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Vermont

About NorthEast Craft Shows (NECS)

Are you tired of searching the internet only to find outdated and useless craft show listings?  Or, how about the sites that tease you with what seems to be a good show only to inform you that you have to become a "member" at a cost of anywhere from $40 to $100 PER YEAR to actually obtain ANY useful details?  My husband and I became very frustrated with the lack of quality information available about craft shows unless we spent a fortune to gain access to shows that may not even be what we're looking for.   And, even after finally deciding to try one of the "paid membership" sites, we discovered that a very large percentage of their listings were labeled:  "Dates not confirmed, please contact the organizer."  I thought that was what we were paying them to do!  We decided to see if we could a better job . . we certainly couldn't do it any worse!  Our site features a simple and easy-to-use design -- no fluff or flashy graphics.  We will focus on getting you the basic information you need as quickly and efficiently as possible.

Thus, this site was born.  The most important thing you need to know is that it's FREE!   All of the information we have on all shows is immediately available to you.  It is not our intent to list all details of a show but we DO include everything you need to know to make an intelligent and informed decision about whether or not to contact the organizer for their application materials.   We will never list a show without including organizer contact information.  Also, to ensure that organizers list their shows here, there is absolutely NO CHARGE for that either.

Update 

When we created NorthEast Craft Shows (NECS) my husband, Tony, and I agreed that we would give it one year to become financially self-supporting.  For the first year, we have borne all of the costs of producing and advertising NECS out of our own pockets . . .  not to mention the hundreds upon hundreds of hours spent creating the site, researching shows, contacting organizers, listing shows, and promoting the site to crafters and artisans.  (This is all in addition to my "real" 40-hour-per-week job and participating in craft shows myself.)  While we knew there was a need for a site like NECS, we are still very surprised and thrilled that it's caught on as quickly as it has.  We've received many emails thanking us (from both crafters and show organizers) and we deeply appreciate hearing from you.

Last November, I began approaching advertisers . . . our hope for the future of NECS.  Unfortunately, while the companies that actually took the time to respond were very impressed with NECS, they said that we do not have a large enough following to warrant spending their advertising dollars on the site.  We currently average over 11,200 visitors per month and though they say that's an excellent number considering how young the site is and given that we have a fairly narrow target market, it's not enough to meet their advertising requirements.  So, to date, we have not been successful in securing even ONE paying advertiser for the "Yellow Pages" section of the site.

All of the advertisements you do see in the NECS "Yellow Pages" are "Affiliates".  This means that NECS receives NO income from those ads unless visitors to the site click on those ads AND make a purchase.  NECS would then receive a very small percentage (usually 5-8%) of the purchase price.  These "Affiliate" ads have been on the site for approximately 6 months and we have not realized ANY income from them at all.  So, they are obviously NOT working.  I'm sure that most of you already have your "tried and true" suppliers and perhaps the "Affiliate" products just aren't of interest to you  --  and we totally understand that.  I have moved ALL "Affiliate" ads from the state listing pages to the "Yellow Pages".  We still harbor some hope that visitors may elect to try some of their products -- there's a lot of excellent companies represented there . . . . but, since their usefulness to the site is negligible at this point, I see no reason to clutter up the state pages with the ads.

Out of necessity, NorthEast Craft Shows is currently a totally donation-supported website and its very existence now depends on you.  At the advice of many of our visitors, we have created the  NECS Online Craft Mall as an addition to the NECS site in an effort to bring in the much-needed operating funds.  We will charge a nominal fee ($5 per year) for crafters to advertise their personal websites or Etsy sites.  I have researched other online malls and this fee is quite a bit lower than what other sites charge, and they do not have anywhere near the traffic that NECS does.  So, we believe it's an excellent deal.  Crafters are a close-knit group and tend to support each other when making purchases.  And, NECS is now being used more and more by craft show lovers looking for shows to attend as shoppers and we're sure they'll love the new Mall and the ability to shop for quality, handcrafted items from the comfort of their homes.

Over the last year, we have received a fair amount of  donations, and we deeply appreciate them.  Through the generosity of these fine people, we were able to pay our hosting fee for another year.  However, donations are needed on a continuing basis in order to keep the site up and running. 

Again, our ONLY goal is to make NECS financially self-supporting and we hope you'll consider advertising your website in the Mall or making a donation to help defray expenses.  We'll appreciate whatever amount you choose to donate, even if it's only $1 -- every little bit helps.   Donations are made through PayPal using either your PayPal account or your credit card if you do not have a PayPal account.  If NECS has ever been helpful to you, please consider making a donation now and then (we will need ongoing donations to keep the site up and running year after year).   Please help us to continue helping you . . . .

Note:  If you get an "error" box during your donation, just click "yes" and all will proceed normally.  This is a glitch on my website's end and will not affect anything on your end.  My provider is looking into the issue.  Thanks!

Check out our newest project, "Keys for Successful Shows" . . . . a compilation of tips and suggestions for both crafters and organizers to help reach everyone's goal:  a great show.  This is a work in progress (and will be for a while) so check back often for new segments.

Join us on Facebook for show listing announcements and to interact with other crafters and artisans.  You can also follow us on Twitter for immediate notification of newly added shows.  Links to both our Facebook page and Twitter are located at the bottom of each state's listing page.  If you contact any of the promoters of the shows on our site, please let them know that you heard about their show on this site and give them our website address: www.NECraftShows.com (upper or lower case . . it doesn't matter) so they can add their future shows.  Don't forget to tell your craft show friends about the site!

Thanks!  And, have a great craft show season!