General Info

The 46th Annual South Portland Art in the Park Show & Sale will be held on Saturday, August 8, 2026 in Mill Creek Park from 9:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.  Artists check-in begins at 7:00 a.m. 

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Artist registration opens on January 30, 2026 and space is available first come first serve for artists who meet the show criteria. All artists, regardless of whether they are entering the prize competition, must pay the $125 fee to exhibit. Artists have the option of including a business card sized ad in the program brochure for an additional $35.

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Payment can be made with an online registration at www.southportlandme.myrec.com (available at 7am on 1/30/26) or by check included with your mailed or in-person application.

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Applications

Art in the Park is open to all artists who wish to exhibit original PAINTINGS, DRAWINGS, PHOTOGRAPHS and PRINTS.  Please be aware this is considered a “fine art” show and works will be carefully considered before being accepted. There will be a Judges’ Cash Award Competition as described below.  All exhibitors, regardless of whether they enter the Judges’ Cash Award Competition must submit an official entry form and pay the $125 entry fee.  If you cancel before July 15th, you will be refunded $100.00; Art in the Park will retain the $35.00 advertising fee (if purchased) and a $25.00 administrative fee.  If you cancel on or after July 15th, you will be refunded $100.00 only if another artist registers for your spot.

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The artists’ section of the park will accommodate 170 artists while allowing plenty of room for relaxed viewing by the public. Therefore, only the first 170 applicants will be accepted.  A wait list may be established.  Artists submitting entries after July 15th, 2023 will not be listed in the festival brochure.  Information can also be obtained by logging on to our web page at www.artintheparkmaine.com or on our Facebook page at South Portland Art in the Park.

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Site Assignments

Applicants will be assigned spaces as completed applications are received. If you wish to be placed next to another artist you must send your applications and fees together. We will not hold spaces open. Both applications must be sent in and the fees paid together to assure that you get adjoining spaces.

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Because of changes in grounds keeping, the actual park layout may change from year to year. Your location last year may be different this year even though your number remains the same. Art in the Park will accommodate requests for particular sites if the site is still available at the time the request is received.

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Please let us know if accommodations are needed for a disability.

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Set-Up and Tear-Down

NEW THIS YEAR: There will be one way traffic in the park entering from Broadway and exiting on Cottage Rd. There is NO ENTRANCE OR EXIT allowed at the crosswalks on Ocean St or Cottage Rd.

The number of vehicles allowed on the park grounds between 7 a.m. and 9 a.m. will be limited to those listed below in the Green Zone. Please try to unload quickly to accommodate others who are waiting. The park will be off-limits to all vehicles between  9 a.m. and 4 p.m.

Please review the map below for unloading zones BEFORE you arrive so you are prepared for where to go as it may differ from previous years. After you have unloaded your materials, please move your car immediately and BEFORE you set up, so others may do the same.

Yellow Zone (Sites 1-20, 121-155, 165-170): Hinckley Drive- Please use Hinckley Drive to unload your materials quickly and close to your site as possible. Only artist vehicles with disability plates may remain parked here through the event.

Blue Zone (Sites 58-70, 50-57): Ocean Road- Please use Ocean Road to unload your materials quickly and as close to your site as you can. NO vehicles may remain parked here during the event as food trucks will be using all designated parking spaces. All vehicles MUST be moved by 9am, when food trucks start arriving.

Orange Zone (Sites 112-121): Cottage Road- Please use Cottage Road to unload your materials quickly and as close to your site as you can. No vehicles may remain parked here during the event.

Green Zone (Sites 20-49, 71-111, 156-164): Park Interior- Please use the entrance on Broadway to the small brick electrical building. Flaggers will guide you down the Greenbelt into the park, taking care to pause pedestrians. As soon as you have unloaded your materials at your site, please exit the park via Cottage Road where a flagger will direct you to the correct exit.
*Sites 38-28 & 81-111: Please pull in to your site so vehicles may continue to go around you. Your vehicles must be moved as soon as you are unloaded, before you set-up. This area is narrow, especially once tents start to go up so it is critical to keep vehicles moved out of this space.

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Parking

As soon as you have unloaded your display, please move your car promptly to one of the designated lots found on the Art in the Park map (found on Art in the Park website). Hinckley Drive will be closed for vehicle traffic until 9:00 a.m.  You will be allowed to turn onto Hinckley Drive and unload your artwork/equipment but you must immediately move your vehicle from the street to one of the designated lots. A volunteer will take your license plate number and site number prior to you unloading your vehicle to ensure we get all vehicles off the road prior to the start of the show. Only artist vehicles with disability plates may remain parked here through the event. The public appreciates being able to find parking near the show and this is one small way we can accommodate them. The Hannaford parking lot is not available for parking during the show.

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Type of Work Accepted

All paintings, drawings, prints, and photographs are acceptable for exhibition; however, only original framed works are permitted in the Judges’ Cash Award Competition.  If there is any question about the admissibility of a certain work, the Committee will base its judgment solely on whether the work meets the admissibility criteria as described, is prepared for hanging and is ready for a purchaser to display.

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PLEASE NOTE: The Committee may, in its discretion, permit no more than 7 sites to be assigned to artists displaying and selling art that does not meet the criteria as described, if it finds that the art proposed for the site is likely to enhance the show by providing a different viewing experience for the public and is not likely to detract from the general character of the show as a display of fine art.

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The Committee will not permit jewelry, crafts or “paint by number” paintings in the show for competition or display. 

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Block print, woodcuts or numbered prints are not acceptable in the Judge’s Cash Award Competition; however, artists are encouraged to exhibit such materials at their stands.  All work entered must be your own original work and not a commercially produced item for which you are acting as sales agent. 

Artists whose work generally meets the permitted criteria may also display and sell works other than those generally permitted as long as they do not take up more than six (6) SF of display space. You are encouraged to set up easels to sketch or paint or do quick portraits.  This benefits the festival and will add to the atmosphere.

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Cancellations

In the event you register and are accepted but find that you cannot be here to exhibit, please inform us immediately. Each year we have a waiting list for artists waiting to participate in the show. REMEMBER, you may NOT give away/reassign your space.   Those artists on the waiting list are the only artists that will be accepted into the show.  You will be refunded $75.00 of your $100.00 registration fee if you cancel on or before July 15th Art in the Park will retain the $35.00 advertising fee (if purchased) and a $25.00 administrative fee.  If you cancel after July 15th you will be refunded $75.00 if another artist registers for your spot. 

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Wait List

The Committee reserves the right to create a reserve list.  Those artists placed on a list will be so notified and their numerical placement indicated.  Please complete an application through the online registration page to be added to the waitlist.  Vacancies may be filled through our ability to contact the applicant or the representative by telephone or e-mail over a reasonable time period – usually one (1) business day.

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Confirmation of Registration

You will receive an email acknowledging receipt of your registration with your site number within two weeks of its receipt.  Two weeks prior to the event, you will receive final instructions via email on what to expect on arrival and a reminder of your site number.

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Weather Related Issues

Mist, fog or intermittent rain will not result in cancellation of the show.  If the forecast is for heavy rain and/or thunderstorms for the day, the show will be cancelled and we will post the cancellation on the Event Website, South Portland Parks & Rec Website, social media, and send an email to participating artists.

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Display Guidelines

Every applicant must exhibit a minimum of five (5) pieces of artwork.  Except for work entered into the Judges’ Cash Prize Competition submissions, works displayed do not have to be framed which may or may not be offered for sale. Collection and payment for sales and other taxes will be the sole responsibility of the artist. ​

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Artists are expected to provide their own stands for display, as well as rain coverings.  Space provided will accommodate stands no larger than 15' in width nor greater than 10' in depth. 

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Please center your display (width) on the numbered stake. The FRONT of your display starts at the location of the stake.  Please leave room for foot traffic.

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Judges’ Cash Awards

Based on artist and judge feedback, we are continuing to adjust the judging process! Your artwork will remain in your OWN tent for the duration of the show. If you wish to participate in having your work judged, you must sign-up ahead of time by checking the option for judging during your application submittal. We ask that you please do not part with your submission if you are a prize winner until after the awards show at noon. If you are a prize winner, you will be asked to bring your piece to the gazebo with you for photographs.

 

Upon arrival, please visit the info table (former judge’s tent location) to receive a large green numbered sticker to attach to the front of your selection to be judged. We will make an announcement at 8:45 a.m. to remind those artists who have not received a sticker to do so. Please display your selected piece prominently for judges to find.

Judges will be escorted by a volunteer who is equipped with a list of sites that are participating in the judging. When the judges arrive, please step out of your tent to allow them a few moments with your work and refrain from speaking with them.

 

Only original framed works are permitted in the Judges’ Cash Award Competition.  If there is any question about the admissibility of a certain work, the Committee will base its judgment solely on whether the work meets the admissibility criteria as described, is prepared for hanging, and is ready for a purchaser to display.

 

Our goals with this change are to reduce the number of people handling your art (risking damage), allow potential customers time to view your best piece during the morning show hours, and allow judges to view your work within a collection of similar pieces.

 

Cash prize awards selections will be announced at 1:00pm in the gazebo. If you have won a prize, a volunteer will come to your stand after 12 p.m. to ask you to come to the gazebo to receive your prize ribbon. Checks will be distributed after the ceremony at the information table where we will collect your information.

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Example artist business cards for the program

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Artists may purchase space in the program for a business card size ad (1-5/8" x 2-5/8" - oriented either horizontally or vertically) for $35.00. These ads allow for greater visibility for the artists with their stand numbers indicated in the ad space.