Art in the Park — Exhibitor Check-In & Check-Out Guide

 

OAKVILLE ART SOCIETY

Art in the Park — Exhibitor Check-In & Check-Out Guide

Monday, August 3, 2026  •  10:00 am – 5:00 pm

Waterfront Heritage Park, Bronte  •  artintheparkoakville.com

Welcome, and thank you for exhibiting with us! Please read this guide before show day. A smooth check-in keeps the field clear, gets you set up faster, and protects our hard-won privilege of driving onto the park. The short version is in the box below; full details follow.

TL;DR — THE 60-SECOND VERSION Arrive in your time slot.  Slot 1: 6:30–7:30 am (cars off field by 8:00). Slot 2: 8:00–9:00 am (cars off field by 9:30). Early arrivals are turned away. Booths 30–75:  use the EAST entrance (nearest the Banquet hall). Unload → park → then set up.  Cars must be off the field by your slot's deadline. This rule is strictly enforced. No staking allowed.  Bring your own tent weights (empty water jugs you fill on site work great). No spare weights on site. Grab your welcome package  at the Art Society info booth after you've parked — it includes your re-entry bracelet. Be fully set up by 9:30 am  and stay open until 5:00 pm. Packing may begin at 4:30 pm. No cars on the field until 5:30 pm.  Do NOT idle at the entrance — it causes major backups. Enter via WEST, exit via EAST. Bring: tent weights, a tarp, your own tables/chairs/canopy, and a dashboard sign with your booth number.

 

Before You Arrive

•   Confirm your booth number and location on the Participating Artists page and the Booth Layout Map at artintheparkoakville dot com.

•   Note your arrival slot below — arrival times are strictly enforced and early arrivals are turned away.

•   Pack your essentials: your own canopy, tables, chairs and displays; tent weights (staking is banned); a tarp to protect art from damp grass; and a name sign for your booth. No electricity is available on the field.

Arrival & Check-In

Know your time slot

To keep the field safe, the Town of Oakville requires a 30-minute buffer between vehicles and visitors. Arrivals are staggered into two windows:

Arrival window	Cars off field by	Booth numbers
6:30 – 7:30 am	8:00 am	18 – 106, and 183 – 191 Booths 30 – 75: use the EAST entrance
8:00 – 9:00 am	9:30 am	1 – 17, and 107 – 182

 

Booths 30–75: please use the EAST entrance on arrival — the one closest to the Banquet hall.

Arriving early? You'll be denied entry to the field and asked to leave the queue and return at your correct time. Exception: if you park off-field and hand-truck your items in, you may set up any time between 6:30 and 9:30 am.

The golden rule: unload, park, then set up

•   (a) Unload your car  →  (b) park it  →  (c) return to set up your booth.

•   This sequence is strictly enforced. Our goal is to clear cars off the field as quickly as possible; volunteers will be on hand to help.

•   During set-up, park parallel to and tight against your booth location to keep the lanes clear.

•   Expect at least a 15-minute delay getting onto the field — please build this into your timing.

•   The field is bounded by a 6-foot Modu-Loc metal fence, so unloading over the fence from outside is not possible this year.

Collect your welcome package

•   Check-in is a single checkpoint. You will NOT receive your welcome package at check-in.

•   After you've unloaded and parked, pick up your welcome package at the Art Society information booth near the main entrance.

•   Your package includes a rubber ID bracelet that lets you exit and re-enter the field free of charge. Wear it — without it you may be charged the regular admission fee to re-enter.

Securing Your Booth — Weights, Not Stakes

Staking is banned in all Town parks, so every tent must be held down with weights. Bronte Waterfront Park is a windy place — please take this seriously.

•   Bring your own weights. Spare weights will NOT be available on site this year.

•   No weights of your own? Rent them from Element Event Rentals, or use any heavy weight such as large water jugs — transport them empty and fill them on site.

•   The grass may be damp: use a tarp as a ground cover to protect your art during set-up and tear-down.

During the Show

•   Be fully set up by 9:30 am and remain open until 5:00 pm.

•   Keep all signage and displays within your 12′ × 12′ space, clear of aisles and neighbouring booths.

•   Live demonstrations are encouraged — just remember there is no electricity on the field.

•   OAS volunteers wear red aprons and offer short booth-sitting relief (up to 15 minutes) so you can take a break; find them on the field or at the information booth.

Check-Out & Tear-Down

This is the most important section for protecting our on-field driving privilege — please follow it carefully.

•   A show-closing warning is issued at 4:30 pm; visitors are ushered off the field at 5:00 pm. You may begin packing up at 4:30 pm.

•   NO cars are allowed on the field until 5:30 pm. The Town is very strict about this.

•   Do NOT fetch your car and idle at the entrance waiting to get in. Last year this caused a half-kilometre backup that nearly cost us our on-field driving privilege. If we lose it, everything gets hand-carried next year.

•   Traffic flow at tear-down: cars ENTER via the WEST entrance and EXIT via the EAST entrance only — no two-way traffic.

•   Before you leave, clear your area of all garbage, including cut-off cable-tie ends. Garbage cans are at both entrances and in the catering area.

Questions on the Day

Look for any volunteer in a red apron, or visit the Oakville Art Society information booth near the main entrance. We're here to make this a great day for you. Oakville Art Society • 905-827-5711 • info@oakvilleartsociety.com

Thank you for being part of Art in the Park 2026 — enjoy the show!