I want you to have the best time ever

Saturday's art raffle was a super success! All that attended had a great time & some starving artists (including yours truly) walked away with a belly full of beer and what my great grandmother called "folding money". It was a party with a purpose. I felt proud, inspired, & grateful to be involved in something so simple and so fun.
Because I love you and want you to have the best time ever I am going to suggest that you, yes you, throw an art raffle of your own! Here's what you will need:

1. A handful of creative friends (10-12)
2. One room with plenty of wall space
3. One empty Kleenex box for each participating artist.
4. Raffle tickets
5. Pens
6. Cash Box
7. Fliers
8. Beverages *of course you could tell people that your event is BYOB* but as you know, if you buy a keg - they will come. If you don't want to buy a keg all on your lonesome you could ask each participating artist for $5-$8, that should cover a keg


Give all the participating artists a due date for their artwork. I would suggest at least a day before the party, that way you have time to play with the presentation. While your friends are busy creating something special for your soiree, it's time to
get the word out! Give a few fliers to each of the participating artists. Put stacks of fliers in coffee shops, print shops, vintage boutiques, dive bars, art galleries, local bulletin boards, your co-op, where ever you can! Make sure to take advantage of Twitter, Flickr, Myspace, Facebook, and all your friends blogs to let people know about your event.
Now it's time to open your doors and Raffle! Make sure you have a door person. If you are your own door person then you get to see everyone who attends, which is rare when hosting a party. Take money at the door ($5-$6 a head) and give everyone their tickets then. You get to decide how many tickets the entry fee will get them and how much more additional tickets will cost. Explain that they need to put their names on the back of the tickets and place them in the kleenex boxes under the piece they'd like to win & let them know what time you will be doing the drawing. Midnight is a good time for the weekends. You'll also need to decide if someone must be present to win if their name is drawn.
Then let the fun begin! At the end of the night you divide up the door between all the artists. Win Win!

So get to it! Raffle your brains out!

*all pictures were provided by Summer Anne Burton. Check out her flickr photo stream for awesome concert photos and her loverly face! She is an all around talented girl, she writes songs that will make your heart warmer and gooey than you ever knew possible.


**Thanks Jen for hosting and inviting me to participate! Best Time Ever!**

pictures, top to bottom: Bitches by Bonnie Rue, Sinking Ship by Clayton Kalman, Under Starry Skies by Summer Burton, Unknown by Amarin Enyart, & a photo of Larissa Swindle taking pictures of everyone's work.