Manufacturer Recommendations 

Below is a table of the total wind force at different wind speeds exerted upon an average 10x10 booth. It is a conservative calculation* based on a closed booth with all sides down. 

If the booth is open on one side, as is normal exhibiting procedure to provide an open door into the booth, the air pressure is much greater.  Not only is wind trapped inside the canopy increasing wind force, but also depending on the shape of the canopy, the air pressure above and behind the canopy system is reduced, thus increasing the net force operating upon the canopy system. The open door setup could increase the wind force numbers in this illustration by as much as 50% over the normal shape factor of 1 used in these calculations.

Survey Questions:

Granted that at any given wind speed, the exact same canopy system set up on the same block of an art show may experience different wind forces. Understandably a booth protected by a large building or the canopies of other exhibitors will experience less wind force than an exhibitor on the exposed end of a row, or at the end of a wind tunnel between buildings. Not to mention that artists exhibit varying degrees of skill in assembling and securing their displays. But with your canopy system properly set up as per your instructions and with your recommended weights attached, please evaluate the effects of it experiencing the wind forces as per the above table. 

Given the total calculated wind forces operating upon your canopy system at noted wind speeds, at what wind speed would you recommend dropping all four side panels to enclose the booth and keep wind force with-in the range shown?  (Keep in mind that the calculations are for a closed booth. If a side panel were open to the wind, the wind forces shown would be much higher). 

Given the total calculated wind forces operating upon your canopy system at noted wind speeds, at what wind speed do you recommend taking the canopy system down completely? 

What recommendations would you make to artists or promoters in regards to evaluating when to hold or when to fold?

Survey Responses:

Light-Dome: I believe that promoters should make a decision based on how they have allowed the exhibitors to secure their canopy. More shows will not allow you to stake into the ground or nail. If they are allowed only to use weights and a storm is coming they should allow each exhibitor to make a choice about their canopy without penalty. Take the example of an exhibitor who does not have panels to lock his canopy into to. How long do we suppose the canopies will stand in severe weather and how much damage should the exhibitor allow before taking down? Unfortunately if the exhibitor is still in his booth when the storm hits there is not much you can do but lower your canopy.

Trimline: I have been exhibiting at art and craft shows for 24 years, with venues ranging from Silver Dollar City mall shows to Coconut Grove, Minneapolis Uptown, and Sugarloaf’s Maryland shows. Despite my experience with weather conditions and with artists’ ways of dealing with those conditions, I am still not prepared to offer any guidelines for when to stay and when to pack it up. Each show is different, from location and physical arrangement of exhibitors to professionalism of both exhibitors and promoters. I think the hold or fold decision must be made afresh at each show. Some artists will stay no matter what the weather offers; others will pack up at the first sign of threatening weather. I have been at shows where exhibitors bailed out early because the turnout was poor and the weather forecast gave little promise of improvement, and I have been at shows where every artist stayed open until they finally closed to the sound of tornado sirens. Responsible promoters will put the safety of exhibitors and their displays ahead of their desire to see the show go on. Responsible artists will fulfill their commitment to promoters by staying until, in their judgment, their products and display and personal safety are at risk.

EZ-UP: Hold when no potentially windy or rainy weather, fold when there is. If the fairgoers are still walking the show and there is nothing blowing around, an artist will want to stay setup to make sales. That is as long as they feel comfortable and everyone is enjoying the show. But the comfort factor drops when a canopy starts rocking and swaying. If you don’t feel comfortable, then pack it up.

KD:  The canopy should have some movement around 20mph and at 28mph it will start to lift from the ground. At over 40 mph the canopy will lift off the ground and could fly and cause damage. At around 20-25 MPH we recommend dropping all four-side panels to enclose the booth. We suggest between 28 and 30 MPH you take the canopy system down completely. We always suggest that when it gets too bad for you then it is too bad for the canopy, we have tested our units up to 35 mph when anchored down. 

Showoff: The difficulty as a manufacturer in recommending when to fold is exactly the fact that artists on the same block will experience different wind forces. We have had praise from artists on how well the Showoff performed in high winds compare to other manufacturers, but have also had failures when a canopy setup adjacent to our suffered no damage. The bottom line is common sense has to prevail. Weight system, spikes, and guide ropes should be a routine setup.

Craft Hut: In about 14 years of producing 9000 Craft Huts, we have had only 6 or 7 that have been completely destroyed by wind. We usually ask customers how strong the wind was. Properly anchored down, it seems anything over 50 MPH will take it down.

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*[The wind pressure can be approximated by: Pressure = ½ x (density of air) x (wind speed)² x (shape factor). The density of air is about 1.25 kg/m³. The shape factor (drag coefficient) depends on the shape of the body. It has order of magnitude 1 and is dimension less. The wind speed must be expressed in m/s. In that case the pressure has units kg/m/s², i.e. N/m² that is converted to pound force/square foot times 80 square feet to approximate the wind force acting upon one side of an average canopy at given wind speeds shown in miles/hour.]

This article was written by Carl Buehler www.jewelgallery.net  and is copyrighted by Sunshine Artist Magazine and may not be reproduced in any form without written permission.  www.sunshineartist.com

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