Showcase

Showcasing:

WAF offers three different opportunities for Members to showcase at our convention and this is done by an application process with a showcase application fee. Showcase applications are due by October 27, 2025.

Our Evening Showcases will take place on Monday and Tuesday evening of convention, and include video screens for enhanced viewing. We will be offering a Family Stage Showcase on Tuesday morning if we have enough submissions.

We are looking for bands, magicians, hypnotists, jugglers, dancers, animal shows, truck shows, etc. that you believe are a good fit for our fair family. Please keep in mind the budgets our fair members have. You might find a fair that is going to book an act between $1,500 and $3,000 or a group that can pay up to $5,000 for entertainment.

We encourage you to provide a variety of entertainment offerings (bands, family, variety, etc.) in a variety of price ranges for our member fairs to consider. Most fairs will book acts within the $1,500 - $5,000 range.

SHOWCASE REGULATIONS: WISCONSIN ASSOCIATION OF FAIRS

• Only Members that are in good standing with WAF, and have paid their membership through the two fair conventions prior to the year they wish to showcase, are eligible for showcasing. A member in good standing is one that pays their annual dues and follows the Associate Member Code of Conduct established by the Wisconsin Association of Fairs. (See description under the Membership description.) In addition, Associate Member will need to pay their dues for the year in which it showcases.
• Evening and Family Showcase acts will be showcased only once within a three-year time period (two years in between each showcase opportunity.) Video Showcase acts may be submitted annually.
• Each Member must register for the convention and work from a trade show booth or have a hotel room in the convention hotel in order to participate in the showcase. If selected to showcase, you may hand out promotional materials on the night in which you showcase and, in the room, that the showcase is held. Associates can only be in costume at the showcase on the night in which they showcase.
• Members may submit more than one act for consideration; however, only one act will be given priority from each Member. An additional act from any one Member may also be chosen for showcase variety if necessary or to serve as emcee.
• There are three types of showcasing, Evening Showcase, Video Showcase and Family Showcase.
• The act must be appropriate to the Fair circuit and be able to perform in the facilities provided.
• Showcase act must use sound and lights provided by WAF. The control and sound level will be determined by WAF Showcase Committee.
• All showcase requests must be submitted online using the proper application form by October 27, 2025. Applicants must pay via credit card a $50 application fee for Evening/Video Showcase or $25 for Family Showcase. Those submissions not selected will be refunded the application fee. Promotional materials will ONLY be accepted electronically. Please provide the specific link on the application. Acts will not be considered without proper materials or incomplete submissions (broken links, no sound, etc.)
• Showcase acts will be assigned and confirmed to the submitting party no later than November 16, 2025. Confirmations must be followed up with signed agreement, stage plots and any additional information by December 4, 2025.
• If an act is scheduled and confirmed to perform at the WAF convention and then cancels or doesn’t show, they forfeit their space and have to wait three years to be eligible to showcase again. If the cancellation is based on a severe weather event, the showcase committee will review and decide on their eligibility for the next year.
• All applications NOT selected by the Wisconsin Association of Fairs Showcase Committee to showcase at convention, are NOT permitted to showcase LIVE any other time during the convention. This includes all of the hotel property including hotel rooms.
• Evening showcase act must have a member with technical knowledge and EQUIPMENT present at designated meeting times. Any group not represented at meeting will lose scheduled sound check appointment and will be moved to the end of the showcase. Meeting times to be determined and announced by WAF Showcase Committee. At this meeting, all acts will be given wristbands which will allow them access to the showcase room. Associates are expected to conduct business in their hotel room following the showcase and/or in their booth during the trade show hours.

• Video showcase is available to acts/entertainment that is too large for the stage such as animal acts, motorsports, hypnotists, or variety acts. Videos shown at the showcase are limited to 3 minutes in length and should be submitted in DVD format for view.
• Family Showcase is available to acts/entertainment such as family shows, magicians, kids show, etc. that can fit onto a stage to perform. The showcase will be limited to 12 minutes with 1-2 minutes of set up and tear down. Family Showcase will take place on Tuesday morning at in the Grand Ballroom and will use the sound equipment provided by the hotel.
• Evening showcase is available to acts/entertainment such as bands, dance groups, family shows, magicians, etc. that can fit onto a stage to perform. The showcase will be limited to 15 minutes. There will be specific times set-up preceding performance time and 5 minutes to tear down following performance. Acts must adhere to this scheduling. Our Evening Showcase is set up similar to a “Festival Style Event Showcase”. This means there is very limited time to set up between acts, approximately 7 minutes. We have between 6 and 8 acts perform each night with an emcee filling the time while changeover is happening.
  • WAF will provide the following equipment that is required for all acts to use:
    • Front of house equipment
    • Stage monitors with mics
    • Backline equipment with 2 guitar & bass amps
    • Drum kit
    • Standard keyboard
      • If you have any special keyboard requests other than the equipment provided, those requests must be emailed by December 4 to jaime.kwiatkowski@wistatefair.com. We cannot guarantee they will be approved.

Acts are selected on the following criteria ranked in order of importance:

1. Quality of Act
2. Appropriateness of act for the Fair Circuit
3. Variety of musical styles and consideration to ranges of budgets of Fairs represented.

The guidelines above are subject to alterations and/or changes during the annual WAF Convention, if the situation warrants a change. The ultimate and final decision is the prerogative of the WAF Showcase Committee with the approval of the Wisconsin Association of Fairs Board of Directors.