Oconomowoc Festival of the Arts 2026

The Oconomowoc Festival of The Arts takes place in Fowler Park on the shores of Fowler Lake, in the charming city of Oconomowoc, Wisconsin. This show is ranked as one of the best outdoor juried fine art festivals in the Midwest. Held annually since 1970, the Festival takes place the third full weekend of August from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm, rain or shine. The show features 110 fine art artists from all over the United States, in Ceramics (Functional or Decorative), Drawing/Pastels/Printmaking, Fiber/Leather, Glass, Jewelry, 2D Mixed Media, 3D Mixed Media, Painting (watercolor, oil or acrylic), Photography, Sculpture and Wood. The festival is 100% organized and operated by community volunteers.

Applications are submitted using ZAPP website between November 1, 2025, and February 28, 2026. The non refundable application fee is $40.00. Your application must include 5 images with 1 image of the booth and 4 images of your work. Images in your application must represent current work and must have all identifying artist names, business names, booth signs, signatures, and photos of the artist removed to ensure anonymity. Each application is limited to one category. Once invited to the Festival, a single booth fee is $300.00 and a double booth fee is $600.00.

Artists judged to be the best in each category and one artist as best in show receive cash prizes totaling $3,500.00 and are automatically invited back the following year, exempt from the jury process. The Festival includes live entertainment on three stages, a silent auction, and several food vendors. A continental breakfast for artists is provided Saturday and Sunday morning from 7:30 a.m. to 9:30 a.m., and a limited number of complimentary housing accommodations in private homes are available through the "Adopt-An-Artist" program. All work must be designed by the accepted artist, with 75% or more of the display consisting of original work. If AI is used in any part of the process, this must be stated in the application, on the artwork, and in the booth.