My life amongst visual artists, given that I am a producer of events, often turns to the subject of pricing and marketing. I meet an awful lot of artists who want to earn more money from their creative enterprises, and so I have become very interested in collective initiatives such as Artropolis, CARFAC, Artist in Our Midst, Eastside Culture Crawl, Federation of Canadian Artists, artist-run centres, and Circle Craft. These visual arts collectives help individuals through collective action on sales and marketing as well as many other forms of professional development. The month of November, therefore, was wonderful for me because I had the chance to visit the Circle Craft Christmas Market at Canada Place and to spend a whole weekend at Vancouver's Eastside Culture Crawl.

I first became aware of the Circle Craft organization when they took over the Vancouver East Cultural Centre for their Christmas Market in 1972. I was struck by two things at my first visit: a performing arts venue had turned itself over to visual artists and crafts people were far more "practical" about sales and marketing than my friends in the fine arts. I returned many times to that fair, loving the atmosphere and the exceptional quality of nearly all the work offered for sale. Flash forward to the 2005 version of the fair that took place November 9th to 13th at Canada Place. I visited the Christmas Market three times in order to take everything in. What a great experience it was; the fair is a model of cooperative visual arts marketing.

My second visit to the 2005 Christmas Market was on Friday morning, November 11th. When I arrived, there was a long, long line up snaking out the doors of Canada Place and winding down the decking that runs beside the convention centre. That line up was for tickets and it moved quickly. I had a pass, so I proceeded inside with an amazing number of ticket holders—I was stunned by the number of people. When I returned later that evening I found out from staff that more people had attended the fair that day than on any other in the Market's history—there were 9,153 paid visitors plus another 3,000 on day passes, show passes and complimentary tickets for a total of over 12,000 people in one day!

As it was Remembrance Day, I was very happy to hear the announcement that called for a minute of silence. Everything came to a standstill. No one moved, and after the minute of silence, a soprano with a glorious voice sang Amazing Grace. I was deeply moved by the sentiment of the experience and the silence and stillness of the enormous crowd, and terribly impressed with Circle Craft for recognizing the time and date so beautifully. Those moments gave the cavernous hall heart. I felt for a while, like I was back at the Cultural Centre when the Market began.

During my visit that evening, I met Paul Yard, General Manager of Circle Craft, and we talked about the history of the Christmas Market. We talked about the impact of growth from a small, highly selective fair, to one that is far, far larger and much broader in its appeal (there is now foodstuffs in the fair, for example). I wish I had had the experience of the Culture Crawl before I spoke with him.

The Crawl weekend was foggy but there was no possibility of rain, so it was wonderful to see the streets of Strathcona filled with hundreds of people all carrying the studio maps of artists participating in the Crawl. It too has grown since I last took part. I always return to see my favourite studios*#8212;artists such as Jeina Morosoff, Gailan Ngan, Alwyn O'Brien and the woodworkers at 1000 Parker—but for the last several years, I have not taken the time to explore new spaces.

My greatest impression at this year's Crawl was at the ARC building. It is situated away from the centre of the Crawl so the artists there arranged for a shuttle bus to carry guests to and from "action central." When visitors arrived at the door, a friendly host welcomed them, gave each one a list of studios open and directed them to a sign system that guided visitors through the building. It was a perfect example of how to maximize the Crawl experience for both the visitor/customers and the participating artists. It was also very nice to have the excellent little cafe at the ARC open for visitors. The same was true of 1000 Parker, the capacity to have a warm cup of coffee and a snack really adds to the Crawl experience.

The only weakness of the Crawl is that it is open to anyone. There is no jurying as exists at Circle Craft's Christmas Market, so you walk a little more to find excellence. Both are wonderful examples of collective marketing and both are entirely satisfying experiences. The Crawl is part festival, part sale; the Market is a sale with soul. Congratulations to organizers of both events!

Another example of artists helping artists is the Performing Arts Lodge (PAL). PAL Vancouver is a BC non-profit organization, created to provide quality affordable housing and support for seniors and the disabled in the performing arts and allied professions. The organization was founded in 2001 as a chapter of Performing Arts Lodges of Canada. The Lodge, a new mixed-income development, is located at Bayshore Gardens, adjacent to Georgia and Cardero near the Westin Bayshore Hotel. It sits in a prime downtown location, close to recreation centres, a library, Stanley Park, Robson Market and the seawall, and it also has numerous amenities including a multi-purpose performance space and roof garden. A group of volunteers—PAL's Angels will offer friendship, assistance and arrangement support services for tenants.

PAL's rents will address the reality of poverty for senior cultural workers. Elders in the performing arts earn an average annual income of about $10,000, or half the average income of all other Vancouverites over the age of 65. At this time it is expected that rent for fifty per cent of the units will be geared to income and that the other units will be rented at ten per cent below market value.

I mention this project because the forty-nine one bedroom near market rental suites which will rent for $1080 per month may be of interest to you. The PAL Vancouver Society has decided to accept applications for residence from local visual artists and this is an exclusive offer through the Opus Visual Arts Newsletter. If you are interested in considering living in a residence filled with artists, especially if you are over age 55, visit the PAL Vancouver website at www.palvancouver.org. If you call the PAL office or apply for residence, you must mention that you are a visual artist and that you were informed of this opportunity through this newsletter. (And if you have worked with professional performing artists in some capacity (designers, mask makers, poster design, etc.) you should say so in your application). There are near market application forms on the PAL website—just hit the "Becoming a Resident" button on the left on the homepage.