My unscientific poll indicates that, for the most part, people bought at the lower end with only one artist reporting exceeded expectations, and his art was priced in the $150-$250 range. According to the dozen or so artists I spoke with, reasonably priced photographs sold well, but better quality higher priced paintings and sculptures moved slowly at best. This may have been due to the fact that a smattering of booths with kitschy, gimmicky, tricky art scattered throughout the festival cheapened the impact of the good stuff. Incidentally, photography is about the only medium that people who like art feel they understand regardless of how little they know about art or what the photographs look like-- "Oh, you're a photographer, you take pictures with a camera. I get it."

Quite a few artists make either most or all of their livings by showing at arts festivals like Cain Park. This special breed is not averse to hauling their oeuvres, nomad-style, from venue to venue, mixing it up with the public, and squeezing out livelihoods in the process. No one I spoke with was making a killing, but one artist told me that selling in the midwest is easier than selling on the coasts, and he can charge more-- fewer artists, less competition. Most all of the artists showing at Cain Park were from outside the area.