FAQs about Fair Saturday

About Fair Saturday

Fair Saturday is a global cultural movement that aims to positively respond to the commercialism of Black Friday by delivering a festival of arts/culture (on the following Saturday). It is based on the open and participatory organisation of cultural activities of all kinds, each of which makes a contribution to their chosen social cause. Proving that arts and culture are essential for our future.

No. Fair Saturday is not against anything. It aims to respond to Black Friday in a positive way, prioritizing culture and social empathy towards the most vulnerable in our society, providing an opportunity “to be” rather than “to have”.

Fair Saturday is an idea to place culture at the center. To recognize the value of cultural and social organizations. To feel. To reflect. And to act for the common good. Not only today but also, hopefully, for the rest of the year.

On Fair Saturday 2019, +850 events took place at 150 different places, with the participation of more than 10,500 artists in support of over 350 social projects. In 2020 Fair Saturday online took place for the first time with more than 250 events worldwide.

Fair Saturday 2021 will take place on Saturday 27 November. In Scotland, it will be held on 26-30 December, St. Andrews Fair Saturday.

Fair Saturday cities and territories

Due to its open and participatory nature, Fair Saturday can take place in any city or venue in the world. The last edition was held in more than 150 venues, with 15 official hubs (hubs link). Since 2015, each edition has added new cities and official territories that wish to become global project leaders and offer their citizenry a day that is different, where culture and social empathy are the protagonists of their city.

At this time, the official locations for Fair Saturday 2020 have been:

  • Bilbao
  • Bizcay
  • Scotland
  • Lisbon
  • Huelva

An official city/region promotes the organization of the festival through its public institutions. Fair Saturday is in charge of developing the project throughout the year to ensure its success in the city/region and to trigger each year a strong mobilization in favor of arts, culture, and social projects. The city/region will also become part of the international network of official Fair Saturday cities and regions.

Yes, Fair Saturday can take place in any city, anywhere within it. Most of the events will be held in official cities, but they can also take place in any other one.

Funding

Fair Saturday is a not-for-profit organisation registered in 2015. The Foundation’s income streams are mainly:

  • Partnerships with cities that wish to deliver the project in their territory
  • Brands that believe in the project and wish to be part of it
  • Public or private grants from organisations whose goals are similar to the ones of Fair Saturday

Organizing a Fair Saturday event

Artists and cultural entities of all kinds can participate, both amateur and professional or semi-professional, individually or in groups. The bulk of the festival is made up of private amateur artists: music groups, theater and dance schools, university groups, choirs, bars, concert halls, etc.

  • All Fair Saturday events will be held on the last Saturday of November.
  • The main activity has to be cultural, culture does not play a secondary role.
  • All Fair Saturday events collaborate with an NGO or a social project.
  • The NGO will have a space at the event to make itself known and present its work.
    present their work

In the weeks leading up to the event, the event will be part of the global Fair Saturday poster, with a presence on both the Fair Saturday website and the Fair Saturday mobile app. This will make it easy to share the event with as many people as you wish. On the day of Fair Saturday at the event, it is necessary to give a space to share with the audience the manifesto. And in the case that a part of the benefits is destined to a social project, it will be necessary to offer a few minutes before the event so that 1 representative of the social cause can explain to the audience the beneficiary project they are developing. In this edition of the festival, you can generate social impact by choosing your own cultural project.

The events that are part of Fair Saturday are organized autonomously. Fair Saturday will collaborate in the organization of the event as much as possible and will provide support throughout the process. Fair Saturday does not charge any commission for the events that are part of the movement. Fair Saturday will not be the entity responsible for paying cachet to the artists. However, it will make available to the artists all its communication channels and tools free of charge to ensure that the event is a success and the artists can benefit from it.

If you are an artist, cultural organization, have premises available to hold events or an artistic project and everything thought out, this is what you can do:

  • Organize an event on-site/online on Fair Saturday day in your city
  • Include an event/show that you have already programmed in the Fair Saturday programme by supporting a social project*
  • Include an event/show that you have recorded in the Fair Saturday app as a new contribution to this edition

If you have an idea but you don’t know how to make it happen, you have premises and are looking for artists that can use it or you have prepared an event but you don’t know where to perform, write us and we will try to help at:  info@fairsaturday.org

Of course! Fair Saturday is an open movement. You can organise a show as an individual, a business, an NGO… Artists are not the only ones to organise cultural shows. Email us and we will help you: info@fairsaturday.org

You can hold your event anywhere in your city: in a square, a bar, a library, a shop, a theatre, school or in the subway. You are free to hold your event wherever you want. You can also participate online through our app.

Insofar as possible, we will try to help you find a place to perform. There are also platforms and search engines available to help you find that perfect place. Write to us as info@fairsaturday.org for more information.

In this edition of Fair Saturday 2021, events can again be placed online through our app. Sign up in the app and upload your event.

You will retain all property rights to your content, but authorize Fair Saturday to reproduce, make available and promote it, as well as to store it. Fair Saturday will not distribute or commercially exploit any content without your prior notice and authorization.

Fair Saturday will take place the Saturday following Black Friday, all shows will take place that day except for the opening show and the event closing the edition. Exceptions will be made in very particular situations.

The call for this edition closes on 15 November.

We will continue accepting proposals after that date, but they will not have the same promotion as the events signed up within the call period.

Ticketing

Not all of the events have to be free to enter, that is to be decided by the artists or cultural entities in charge of the organisation of the show. They decide whether to sell tickets or not as well as the price.

Culture has value. Then, even if the event is free the audience will set a value to the show through a donation and the artists decide to donate it to their charity (they define the quantity to be donated to the charity)

Depending on the type of event you organise, you can use our own ticketing platform, FStickets, or you can select the ticketing platform of your choice. Discover all the possibilities through the guide “How to upload your event to the web”.

It is a non-profit platform that seeks to maximize the benefits for the artistic and cultural sector. The only commissions to be paid are those fixed by the payment gateway. Fair Saturday does not charge any commission to the artist or the audience.

Through your account, you will be able to know how many people have bought your tickets and the money spent by each of them. We will also make available to you the metrics of views of the videos you upload to the platform.

You will be able to share the event link on the website as soon as it is approved and published. People will be able to access ticket purchases at least two weeks before your online event and four weeks before your in-person event takes place.

Your money will be sent by bank transfer one day after the festival.

Working with social causes

The artists and cultural entities participating are free to choose the Charity they want to collaborate with.

The collaboration with the social project may vary depending on the artists or organisation participating. Some examples of how to collaborate with the social projects are:

  • % of the ticket sales
  • % of the artists’ fee
  • Allowing the charity to raise open donations from the public
  • Allowing the charity to sell merchandising during the event
  • Partnership with a private entity that will make a donation to the charity
  • Collection of goods for the charity
  • Auctions
  • Inviting the charity’s beneficiaries to a premium experience in the event
  • etc..

The artists and cultural entities participates are not obliged to donate 100% of the proceeds, they decide the % to be donated. There is not a minimum to be donated.

If you know or if you are part of an NGO, this is how you can take part:

  • You can be an official Fair Saturday NGO and be chosen by an artist
  • You can look for artists and cultural entities in your city and invite them to participate in the festival with you
  • You can organise your own cultural show for Fair Saturday. We will help you every step of the way.

You can find more information in the “Guide for NGOs” [Coming soon]

As an exception, in the Fair Saturday 2020 Edition, the entire proceeds were donated to artists/cultural entities so that they can continue to develop their cultural and social projects.

Promotion

Yes, every artist and cultural entity participating is free to look for sponsors to fund their event. Fair Saturday will not be responsible for the agreements incurred with third parties.

The partners’ brand would be featured in:

  • The posters and designs of the event
  • The web space associated to the show as well as the app’s
  • Mentions in all posts made on social networks related to the show

All of Fair Saturday’s shows will have:

  • A place in the international website to promote their show
  • A place in the international mobile app
  • Promotion through social networks, blog and newsletter
  • Personalised designs and creativities for their show

Moreover, the complete programme will be promoted though social media, generic posters and publicity in media partners.

You can download Fair Saturday’s logo here. If you want to know every detail on how to use the brand, check our Style Manual [coming soon].

If you have any doubts do not hesitate to contact us at communication@fairsaturday.org

Other ways to get involved

If you are passionate about art and culture, you dream of changing the world, and have some free time that you want to share with us, you can:

  • Become a part of the Fair Saturday volunteer team by helping us with on-site and online events.
  • Collaborate in the creation of content and lend us a hand by spreading the word about what we do
  • If you know languages, you can translate our content so our message can travel farther and reach more people
  • Help us to explain Fair Saturday to anyone you think may be interested (media, artists, companies, etc.)

You can find more information about this in the “Guide for Volunteers” or by writing us at info@fairsaturday.org if you have an idea or to receive more information.