Want to Host Your Own Swap Event?
Great idea! Maybe our Farm Barter Faire isn't local enough for you, or you'd love to host one another time of the year. I would be more than happy to post your swap event information here on my website and on our Facebook group page.
Why Host a Swap Event?
Farm-type swaps are community events. They are a great way to not only swap livestock and extra farm supplies and equipment, but also a great way to network and/or teach or learn a new skill! Participants can share crop starts, unload extra livestock, share ideas, or just meet a new neighbor. Hosting a swap event is a way to give back to your community. It's also an opportunity to show your community that you are a resource: for example, I sell far more rabbits after a swap event than I do the day of the swap. People come to my property, see what I have, talk with me and ask questions, take one of my cards and come back later after the event to arrange a purchase. Add in that since I'm the host and the primary sponsor of the event and it means that I get additional advertising and exposure for my farm and rabbitry. I won't lie to you- hosting a swap event can be a LOT of work, especially if you host it somewhere that isn't already set up for large amounts of people. If the idea seems daunting, then consider hosting a swap at an off-site location.
Where to Start
First of all, decide on what you want your swap to be about. Do you want to do a general farm-homestead-type swap like we host, or do you want to be more specific like a seed/plant swap or just a small animal swap? Once you have an idea of what you want, next step is to choose a venue. This is the most important step you will make, because the rest of your swap will depend on what kind of venue you have and what that venue allows.
Ideas for Venues
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Things to consider when choosing a venue
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If you don't have a place of your own that can accommodate parking, a restroom (we use our house restroom because it's located right inside my back door), and space to set up a vendor area, then you can look into asking another local farmer (remember to ask if they can accommodate these things), or seek out a local business that is willing to allow you to host a swap there. Churches, Granges and VFW halls will often let you host swaps there as well. These can be great locations because they are usually used to accommodating crowds plus they are often already active in the community. Be warned- some businesses and locations will charge a fee for use of their facilities. Sometimes these businesses will let you set up indoors and sometimes they will have you set up in their parking lot.
Using an Off-Site Location: Find Out Any Stipulations and Guidelines
If you choose to host a swap event off-site, be sure to talk to your coordinator (the business or location's representative that you will be working with for the event) about what their stipulations or guidelines are. Communicate ahead of time in order to be sure things continue to run smoothly. Talk to them about dates so you can choose a date together. Ask if there is availability to electricity for heat lambs for temporary brooders (if not, consider renting a generator if your location is amenable to you having one running). Find out if they have restrictions on food: produce and homemade goodies for example. Find out if they will require vendors to commit to a specific booth space, and what they will charge you so that you can figure out a booth rental fee for your vendors or a do a fund raiser to cover costs. Ask what their expectations of the swap are, so that you can be on the same page. Work out details on parking, where they want you to set up, and find out what the policy is for restroom use.
Hosting at Your Location
If you're up to hosting on your own place then bravo! Plan ahead as much as you can, and schedule at least one work party to help you set up ahead of time. Decide where you will have vendors set up, where you will have parking, and where visitors will be able to use the restroom. You can rent a porta potty if needed- if you can't afford to pay that fee out of your own pocket, then consider charging vendors a booth rental fee or do a fund raiser, or you can see about finding a corporate sponsor. I'm fortunate to have a huge barn and several acres so that we have room to set up inside and outside.
Expenses
Figure out how you will cover expenses. You can ask vendors to pay a vendor fee, you can host fundraisers both before and during the event, you can ask for corporate sponsors, and/or you can cover the costs yourself. We work hard for our Farm Barter Faires to keep them free to both vendors and shoppers and so we have a handful of local sponsors as well as hosting a raffle where vendors donate the prizes. All other costs come out of my pocket personally. I've never once made enough from a raffle to cover all of my expenses but I do cover most of them over time.
Pick a Date & Time
Now that you have that all worked out, it's time to pick a date and time! It's best to give yourself plenty of time- not just to get organized and get set up or fund raise ahead of time, but also to advertise and network. Decide whether you will host your event on a Saturday or a Sunday (if you are hosting off site then be sure to check with them on dates). I personally wouldn't host an event without at least 6-8 weeks lead time. Choose a time span for your event- it's a really good idea to have a specific end time so people know when to wrap up. Over the years we have settled on our perfect length and time span from 10 am to 3 pm. Vendors can start setting up at 9. Too much earlier and vendors from further away have a hard time getting here in time to set up. We used to end at 2 but found it wasn't QUITE enough time.
Decide on Policies, Rules, Etc
Decide what till and will not be allowed at your swap. If you are hosting off-site then you will probably have guidelines and laws you are required to follow. If you are hosting on private property you may have more leeway. If you are going to allow homemade goodies, you may have to keep your event private since most public swaps cannot allow homemade goodies to be swapped or sold to the public. We have a private facebook group (PNW Farm Barter Faire Networking & Classifieds) that we use to run our events through. You cannot access our event listings without being a member of the group. This gives us more leeway as a private event than if we were hosting as a public event. You are welcome to use my rules and regulations for my Farm Barter Faires as a guideline if you'd like. Be sure to post the rules somewhere for vendors and shoppers to read them ahead of time. Will vendors need to provide their own tables and chairs? What about pop ups if you will have outdoor space?
Swap? Sell? Both?
Decide if you will allow only swaps or if you will also allow cash sales. There are pros and cons to both. Two warnings about doing swap-only events: 1) Not everyone is going to have something that the other person wants and 2) You're restricting yourself from shoppers who aren't there to vend. We get at least as many shoppers who aren't set up to vend as we do vendors and their helpers. We've made our events a resource for locals who can't or don't farm- it's an opportunity to buy fresh eggs, handmade soap and even crafted items.
Read Our Website
Read over our website to get some ideas for your own event. In addition to our Rules & Regulations, we have guidelines for vendors and shoppers and ideas on what is and is not allowed. Use us as a resource- learn from our experiences.
Advertise
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Make flyers and post them at your local farm stores, hardware stores, the library, and any other place you can think of. Make a Facebook event, so that you can invite friends and family (and they can invite friends and family, and so on). Be sure to contact me as well so that I can post your swap event here on this website. If you are set up as a private event like we are, then consider posting the date and the city but not more specific information- instead direct people to your Facebook Group or website so they can become a member. If you are set up as a public event, then keep your event posted publicly and ask friends and family to share it. Post it in relative and local Facebook Groups such as homesteading groups, farming groups, gardening groups, livestock and species-specific groups, etc.
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Gather Supplies
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Decide what supplies you want to have on hand for the big day. Signage is important- you can make hand-written foam board signs in a pinch but be sure to make signs very visible and easy to read. Here are some of the supplies we keep on hand for our events:
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Get Volunteers
We usually have the following volunteers:
- Gate greeter: greets guests at the open gate and directs them where to head for parking, etc
- Parking directors: at least two people who direct parking
- Runners: at least two people to run errands and take care of on-the-fly tasks
- Info desk: someone trusted who can sell raffle tickets, manage my swaps for me, and be the point of contact for questions
- Helpers: people who can help vendors unload and set up
Prepare for the Big Day
Get your location ready if it needs any work. We spend days and weeks getting the property switched over from "farm mode" to "swap mode" for our events. In the future we will have two of our pastures re-fenced and set up for parking and more vendor set up space. This will allow me to get away with less set-up time for my events. Remember that I host 4 events a year at my place so if you're only hosting a one-time event you'll likely have less work to do. Plan on an info desk or table where people can ask questions- put it in an obvious location and assign a friend or family member to man it- you are going to be WAY too busy the day of the swap to do it yourself.
Set Up Ahead of Time
Plan on having your space ready at least an hour before vendors are allowed to arrive. Know where they will park, where they will set up, etc. Give your volunteers a pep talk and make sure everyone knows what they are assigned to do. As vendors arrive, make sure they know where to set up and then where to park (if they aren't allowed to park where they are setting up). As shoppers arrive, do your best to keep things running smoothly. Check in with your volunteers the best you can, answer questions, etc. Don't plan on doing a lot of swapping or selling yourself- you'll be too busy. If you can get your info desk volunteer to run your swaps and sells, that's a bonus.
Hosting a Raffle
You can visit our raffle page for more information about our raffle. We sell our raffle tickets for $0.50 each or 3/$1.00 at our info table and use mason jars (reusable and heavy so they don't get knocked over) to collect tickets. The raffle money goes to cover costs (while I have never recouped all of my costs for these events from any raffle, it does help to cover expenses).
Other Resources
Host an Official PNW Farm Barter Faire Event
If you'd like to host an official PNW Farm Barter Faire event I have some guidelines in effect. You'll need to coordinate with me (Gryph Rivas of Edelweiss Ranch & Rabbitry) on a schedule. If you are local enough or I am able to attend your event, I will loan you our event supplies including signage, banners, staff vests, bull horn, cash box, etc. All supplies must be returned to me unless they are exhaustible supplies (paper for signs, etc).
Requirements for Official PNW Farm Barter Faire Events:
Requirements for Official PNW Farm Barter Faire Events:
- Takes place on private property
- Host must make arrangements for restroom, parking, etc
- Posted only as a private event through PNW Farm Barter Faire Networking
- Advertised in my Facebook group, on this website, on flyers, on posters, etc
- No vendor fee- this is very, very important to me
- Host may use fundraising ventures such as asking vendors to make a donation of cash or a raffle item if they are able
- Runs from 10 am to 3 pm (vendors start setting up at 9 am)
- Livestock and poultry inspections will take place during set up and during event
- Host is encouraged to join our Staff and Volunteer group on Facebook
- Attendees must be members of PNW Farm Barter Faire Networking or signed up for our mailing list (see Contact page to sign up)
Contact me to discuss hosting your own official PNW Farm Barter Faire event!
