F.A.Q
What is the mission of A Big Gay Market?
A Big Gay Market is a designated intentional and affirmative space for LGBTQI+ individuals, especially for those in our community that have intersecting marginalized identities, to join together in queer and trans joy for a cause. Our four larger markets aim to benefit Camp Unirondack’s Queer Youth Advocacy Retreat. All vendors and volunteers who are a part of our event agree to this collective mission before they are allowed to complete their application to attend.
As we grow, we currently offer our four larger markets that include a robust community area, 100+ vendors, food trucks, and a kids’ area with their beneficiary being Camp Unirondack’s Queer Youth Advocacy Retreat. Our pop-ups may also have these elements but the goal of our pop-ups is to bring the spirit of A Big Gay Market to other areas that need a space for folks to gather in queer and trans joy. Our Pop-Up Markets have various beneficiaries that are hand selected by our organizer and larger community.
Wait, you make all vendors and volunteers agree to this mission? What if they don’t?
Then we don’t want you to join us :)
What is A Big Gay Market’s Community Programming?
Starting in 2025, we have introduced monthly Vendor Meet Ups and A Big Gay Community Craft Days! Our Vendor Meet Ups are spaces for vendors to create in the community, learn from other vendors, get tips & tricks about the best markets in the region, and gather with other queer & gender expansive makers. Our A Big Gay Community Craft Days is an event for ALL community members to create with others, with zine and collage materials available for a sliding scale donation, and they are kid-friendly. All of our community programming is FREE. You can check out these offerings here.
What is Camp Unirondack’s Queer Youth Advocacy Retreat?
The Queer Youth Advocacy Retreat is a weekend designed to bring together young Queer and Trans leaders, advocates, activists, organizers, school club members, and aspiring allies. The weekend offers a place for young people to connect with one another, exchange ideas, build knowledge and skills, think critically, and work together toward LGBTQIA+ justice. It is also a place to build friendships with like-minded people and experience a celebration of Queer community, Queer joy, and the magic of being together in the great outdoors. Oh, and it is FREE with transportation! As our Founder says, the Queer Youth Advocacy Retreat is one of the very few places where LGBTQ+ and gender-expansive youth can see hope in action in our state.
You talk a lot about equitable market practices, what does that mean at this event?
To us, it means centering the needs of our vendors, volunteers, and attendees first and foremost with a focus on non-exploitative market practices. We charge a sliding scale fee between $35 to $135 for our four larger markets (April, July, October, and December). For our pop-ups, we have a sliding scale fee of $35 - $95. All vendor fees now collect tax since we have grown so much and need to file taxes every year.
We see our vendor fee as an investment back into the event to ensure we are organizing successful markets with accessibility and our core mission in mind. And, we do have a hardship policy that if you are a new vendor or cannot make the vendor fee - we will cover your vendor fee with no questions asked if you email us at c@abiggaymarket. We do not charge an application fee on top of this vendor fee - once you apply and pay the vendor fee you’re a part of the market. We will only turn away vendors if we have maxed out our location’s capacity and if we have to cancel the event - all vendors can transfer their fees to the next market they can attend.
Finally, being equitable to us also means having a firm commitment to creating an accessible market for ALL. We choose our market location with an eye toward the details of mobility, sensory needs, and more. We are consistently striving to gain input from our disabled community to make the market a place where they are welcomed, always. Equitable market practices benefit us all and exclude no one.
Speaking of accessibility, what are A Big Gay Market’s accessibility notes?
We have chosen Washington Park’s Knox Street Mall as our outdoor market location because it is a flat gravel terrain with little elevation, even in the grassy areas. There is parking throughout the market around the perimeter, with the closest parking at the Hudson Avenue Entrance. This section of the market is surrounded by trees with ample shaded areas with benches every couple of feet. All benches are NOT blocked by our vendors and are accessible for all attendees of the market. We ask our vendors to set up as close to the gravel path to ensure those with mobility devices can access our vendors. We also have only accessible toilets that are ample in size for those with mobility devices on the premises of the market for everyone to use.
When it comes to COVID-19 Protocols, we encourage our vendors, volunteers, and attendees to mask or unmask based on their personal comfort levels. We try to create as much space as possible to avoid crowding the market - which is why we have our vendors on the grass versus on the gravel path. We recognize that we are in an ongoing pandemic despite what federal, state or local officials might say or lack to regulate. Our markets remain outdoors with an indoor market during the month of December.
For our indoor market in December, and all our indoor pop-ups, we provide free masks provided by the local Capital Region Mask Bloc and also bought by us at the door of our event with signage encouraging those to mask. We also try to keep as many doors/windows open as possible to allow airflow throughout the space. Our events in indoor spaces are not our personal venues, therefore, we cannot enforce masking as a mandate because those are not the policies of the space holders. However, we can mitigate risk by highly encouraging our attendees, vendors, to volunteers to wear masks and make it easier for them to do so by providing masks once they enter the space. We understand this is not the perfect policy, but we created this policy with our immunocompromised market attendees, vendors, and volunteers in mind within the constraints of the reality of being a single-led person-organized event.
If you have any suggestions to make our markets more accessible, please email C at c@abiggaymarket.com. We will always strive to be better!
What is your policy around AI (artificial intelligence) utilized in creating art?
A Big Gay Market, at their core, is a community of makers that pour their heart and soul into their products. Our vendors at A Big Gay Market include a plethora of illustrators, print makers, graphic designers, digital artists, fine artists, and cartoonists, and we encourage those who utilize AI for their finished products to reconsider and tap into the talents of our community and divest from utilizing AI for art purposes.
A Big Gay Market does not believe that AI art, such as utilizing AI to write your own stories to create your graphic prints, is original and authentic art. We believe that utilizing AI in this way further perpetuates that artists can be replicated and replaced. We do not support that AI is used as a way to infiltrate the unique skill set needed to create that cannot, and will not, be replaced by machines. On top of AI art removing the soul and expertise of creative expression, AI has and continues to have negative environmental impacts due to its energy consumption, resource extraction, and the creation of electronic waste.
Although we understand that AI can be a helpful tool for basic business functions here and there, such as proofreading or generating sales reports, we do not support using AI as finished products sold as original thought or creation to the community. Therefore, starting at the July 2025 Market, we will only accept vendors who do NOT utilize AI in their finished products. If you have been accepted at any market before July 2025, you must have a sign at your booth that says you utilize AI to differentiate your products from those who hand illustrate to write their own work. If you utilize AI for your business functions here and there, such as proofreading or generating sales reports, that does not need to be on sign at your booth, and you can attend our markets.
This is a living policy and may be reviewed periodically for clarification or as the ongoing development of AI continues.
I sell THC and/or CBD-infused products. Can I be a vendor in this market?
Yes! But we have some policies for those with THC/CBD products to ensure that children - since this is a family-friendly event. Your products must be displayed in a closed case that only you can access from your end. All packaging must indicate clearly and loudly that this product contains THC and/or CBD and be easily identifiable. You CANNOT sell these products to minors during this event, and you will be banned from this event if you do since this is a legal liability. If you follow these protocols, you can sell at this event.
Does A Big Gay Market have a safety team and security protocols in place for larger markets?
A Big Gay Market, starting in 2025, has developed a Safety Team Committee of local volunteers who have a varied amount of expertise in organizing, community safety, security & privacy, doulas, social workers, de-escalators, mediators, and more!
A Big Gay Market’s Safety Team works to ensure that all vendors, volunteers, and attendees have the support needed to navigate our markets authentically and with dignity.
We value proactive, rather than solely reactive, methods of care and prioritize non-carceral practices of intervention and de-escalation. We recognize our limitations as a collective of volunteers with various expertise that we cannot diffuse all situations or crises that may arise, but we will ensure that no matter what, we stick to our values as an organization.
Our safety team has a presence at all of our markets and pop-ups and can be called upon for various reasons. During the markets, we have three main roles - caregivers, soothers, and protectors which can be deployed at any time. We also have a designated low-sensory tent during our four larger markets for those who need a space to unwind during events that are overly stimulating.
We will be creating internal safety plans and procedures with a general framework publicly available before the April 2025 Market. If you are interested in joining the Safety Team Committee, we have rolling applications here. If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to Cyren at A Big Gay Market at c@abiggaymarket.com.
Do You Have Consulting or Vendor Management Services? Do you have to be organizing an LGBTQ+ event to hire you?
No, you don’t have to just be organizing an LGBTQ+ event to hire us! We don’t discriminate if you aren’t queer and gender expansive :) However, we do take a values-based approach to new clients - so you MUST be aligned with our values of being LGBTQ+ friendly and supportive and have a history of being a space for LGBTQ+ individuals. If you are interested in hiring us, you can check out our services here and book a consultation with Cyren!
I want to volunteer with A Big Gay Market! Who should I contact?
We have rolling volunteer opportunities available here! You can also contact C at c@abiggaymarket.com and we will connect you with our volunteer opportunities! Thank you for joining us <3
How can I sponsor A Big Gay Market?
We have Sponsorship Tiers to sponsor our four larger markets! Our pop-ups are currently organized with local, regional folks and we are attempting to create a local sponsorship model for those markets in the next year. We have an interview process to ensure our market sponsors align with our values. Please check out the application and sponsorship tiers here.
Who can I contact for media/press inquiries or for any other concerns or thoughts I may have?
You can contact C Romeo at c@abiggaymarket.com. Please note that this is NOT C’s main job and do not expect a response immediately. C will get back to you at most between 48 to 72 hours if you are NOT a vendor or volunteer contacting them.
Vendor Logistics Specific
What is the vendor fee? Once I submit my application and pay my vendor fee, am I accepted?
Our vendor fee is a sliding scale of $35 to $135 for our four larger markets (April, July, October, and December). For our regional + curated pop-ups, our sliding scale is $35 - $95. We also collect tax starting in 2025 since we have grown exponentially and need to pay taxes every year. Once you pay the vendor fee and submit your application, you are automatically accepted! Welcome to A Big Gay Market Community!
I want to attend the market but I cannot make the vendor fee. Can I still attend?
Yes! Please email us directly at c@abiggaymarket.com. We will not ask any questions and want you to be with us :)
What if the market is canceled, even the rain date, because of some reason? What if I can’t attend any more? Do I get a refund?
We will honor your vendor fee for the next market you are available to attend! We do not issue refunds because vendor fees for each market go directly into our costs to ensure the market actually happens. If you cannot attend any of our future markets, we will ask you to consider donating your vendor fee to Camp Unirondack’s Queer Youth Advocacy Retreat or to a vendor who wants to attend and cannot make the vendor fee.
Wait, why don’t you offer vendor refunds?
We do NOT offer refunds because every vendor fee goes directly back into the event, paying for various costs and our organizer stipend. However, we will offer to move your fee to one of the other larger markets (NOT pop-ups) or a promo code waiving your fee for a future date. Or, you can offer to have your vendor fee be a donation to Camp Unirondack's Queer Youth Advocacy Retreat. Thank you for understanding!
Can I unload/reload from my car in front of my spot? Where do I then park after I am done?
You can park on Washington Park Rd during the duration of the fair. You can ONLY unload/reload your car inside the Market area during the designated set up / breakdown hours. You can enter the Market to unload/load up where the Vendor Check-In/Info Booth is located. Our volunteers will guide you.
Okay, I am a vendor. I need you to give me all the logistic details for the day of. I need to know it ALL!
All vendors will receive a lot of communications from me leading up to the event! All of our pop-ups do have different logistics, but for our four larger markets (April, July, October, and December) - this is the general logistics to keep in mind.
Set-Up will begin earliest at 9:30 AM for vendors. We will be there around 7:30 AM to set up the vendor check-in / informational booth and the community/kids tent.
Vendor Check is at the north end of Knox Mall Rd indicated on the map - you can drive up from this location the easiest.
When you first arrive, please head to the information booth to check in and receive your signage - your signage will include the information you provided and it will be laminated for your booth.
There are NO pre-assigned booth spaces - it first comes, first serve. All booths are standard 10 x 10 for our outdoor markets. We permit one 4ft table with one clothing rack OR two clothing racks for indoor markets.
Please note that by signing up as a vendor, you are committing to being present or having someone at your booth for the duration of the event.
If you need coverage if you are vending alone, please let us know at the informational booth and a volunteer can cover for you temporarily!
Break down will begin earliest at 4:00 PM and end around 5:30 PM latest. You CANNOT bring your cars up until 4:00 PM for safety reasons.
Please clean up all garbage and throw it away in the public garbage pails scattered around the area before you leave. Help us, volunteers and our public parks!
I have a question that isn’t on this list!
Please email C at c@abiggaymarket.com and we will answer all your questions :) Thank you for joining us!
**This FAQ will be updated periodically as more questions are asked!