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Last Update: Mar 5th, 2019
Art Fair 2019

Las Olas Art Fair This Weekend

I haven't been to an Art Fair in 5 years; was there a chance there was something different? I trekked down about 3p on Sunday. They start to pack up at 4p on Sunday so you can't go later than this.

Note the main picture and the photo from 2015; same dude in the same cart sitting in the same spot. Only the ads have changed. Welcome to Boring Fort Lauderdale.

Same old animals from 2007. There's a giraffe now if you happen to have 20 foot ceilings in your condo.

Art Fair 2019

Even the art seemed the same. I saw something I liked with no price. Was it $300 or $5,000? I wasn't going to ask. 500 people who know nothing about marketing their art. I've never actually seen anyone carrying a piece of art at the show.

Art Fair 2019

The red door actually had customers, which is what the Art Fair is all about. No food trucks or food stands encountered; the Art Fair is just a trick to get people to come to Las Olas for lunch.

Review 10/2015

Artfair entry

You know that the summer is over when it's time for another Art Fair.

Art Fair 12pm 1/3/2015

If you've never been to a Las Olas Art Fair, you should know that it isn't so much about Art; it's about drawing people down to Las Olas so that the restaurants can have a stellar day. Most people just walk around and don't buy much; but the restaurants will be packed. Las Olas is closed from Cheesecake Factory to the Tarpon Bridge, so plan accordingly.

Artshow closed

When I first moved to Fort Lauderdale I remember thinking how cool it would be to have an art show right in the neighborhood. Real New York City stuff. The first one was 1 week after I moved in. And you really need artwork when you first move into a new Condo. I remember walking the entire length of the show; and then back up the other way. I also remember that I didn't buy anything. Its not much different than art galleries; its mostly junk and the stuff that you really like is thousands of dollars.

Las Olas Art Fair Crowd

In reality, the Art Show is more of an event than a place where you go to buy artwork. Its a spectacle. You don't see many people walking around with anything they've actually purchased.

Las Olas Art Fair

There's all kinds of cool stuff, like the big animal sculptures. Where am I going to put a big giraffe, on my balcony? What condo board is going to allow one of these things?

Las Olas Art Fair Animal Sculptures

Into Pipe Art? You'll see some of that also.

Artfair pipeart

Everyone tries to cash in on the Art Show. There's a dude by Cheesecake Factory with a cooler selling water for $1; the Riverside has a big setup on the Lawn-Where-O'Haras-Was where they're selling sausage and pepper sandwiches for $8.

Las Olas Art Fair Food Area

But if you want to eat, I recommend one of the burger stations, where I got a pretty good sausage and peppers sandwich a few shows ago.

Art Fair Sausage and Peppers

One good thing about the Art Fair is that Las Olas Blvd is closed down on Saturday and Sunday night. Saturday is great; you can walk down Las Olas without any traffic at all. On Sunday, they're breaking everything down, so it's not quite as pleasant.

Las Olas Art Fair Sunday Night

What amazes me is that so many people keep coming. Its the same vendors and the same stuff and the same Giraffes every time. What are we up to now, 4 per year? Enough already.

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Alan
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If I'm not mistaken, Le Cafe De Paris, the French restaurant right in the heart of the Art Fair, is never open for business on these days (or any other daytime for that matter). I imagine that they could rake in a bundle just by having only the outside tables be open and serve some really basic fare along with liquids of all types. Plates of cold cuts and cheese, baguettes, wine and bottled water, coffee and dessert and they'd make the rent on that alone. As well as hook a few new diners to their place in the evening.
But I suppose that the owners have calculated that it isn't worth the effort to have a few employees open for the extra few hours during the fare. Lost business for them, lost tips for the workers. C'est la vie...
Lewis
Reply
You forgot to add the same vagrants in front of the Icon Lot badgering tourists for money and screaming into the wind...When will Seiler get rid of these downtown bums??

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