Craft Lake City is excited to highlight its scholarship opportunities and fee support options for prospective exhibitors of the 18th Annual Craft Lake City DIY Festival Presented By Harmons, taking place the second weekend of August at the Utah State Fairpark.
Craft Lake City Unity Initiative
Craft Lake City’s Unity Initiative aims to facilitate a creative community that is accessible to and representative of all Utahns by supporting makers from underrepresented and/or socially or economically excluded communities. Programs within the Unity Initiative at the 2026 DIY Festival include the Scholarship & Mentor Program, Sponsored Entrepreneur Program, Application Assistance and Application Fee Support, and STEM and Kid Row Scholarships. Learn more at craftlakecity.com/unity-initiative.
Scholarship and Mentor Program
The Scholarship & Mentor Program is designed to uplift first-time exhibitors at the DIY Fest in the artisan, vintage and craft food categories by providing business training, networking opportunities, waived exhibitor fees and one-on-one mentorship before, during and after the Annual Craft Lake City Event. Scholarship applications must be submitted alongside a general DIY Fest application before March 26, 2026.
Scholarship Categories:
All scholarship types within the program receive the same benefits, and makers are encouraged to apply under the category with which they most identify.
Artisan Scholarship
Open to all local makers, with an emphasis on emerging artisans who fall below the 50% Area Median Income Bracket in their county of residence.
ArtAbility Scholarship
Open to all local makers with an emphasis on those who identify as disabled, are an ally or whose work promotes visibility and acceptance of the disabled community.
LGBTQ+ Scholarship
Open to all local makers, with a focus on those who identify as part of the LGBTQ+ community, are an ally or whose work promotes LGBTQ+ visibility and acceptance.
Additional Resources
Sponsored Entrepreneur
Craft Lake City’s Sponsored Entrepreneur program offers aspiring entrepreneurs the chance to shadow a seasoned exhibitor before, during and after the festival. Participants gain hands-on experience and practical insight into running a successful creative business.
STEM Scholarship: Funding Match Up
STEM Scholarships provide small, local non-profit STEM groups or Indie Game developers with need-based funds. Scholarships are awarded on a sliding scale.
Kid Row Scholarships
Kid Row is Craft Lake City’s Saturday-only youth market for local artisans ages 18 and younger to exhibit, promote and sell their handcrafted wares. Open to all youth entrepreneurs, with an emphasis on those who fall below the 50% median income, the Kid Row scholarship allows a limited number of young emerging artisans to participate in this formative event at no cost.
Application Fee Support
For those interested in applying to the DIY Fest but find that the application fee presents a barrier for entry, a limited number of application fee waivers may be available from grants, donors or other additional funding sources. Interested creatives may send an email to info@craftlakecity.com with a paragraph-length Statement Of Need prior to the application deadline (March 26, 2025) to inquire about potential fee support.
If you have any questions about DIY Festival applications, scholarships or fee support, please reach out to artisancoordinator@craftlakecity.com
About Craft Lake City:
Founded in 2009 by Angela H. Brown, Executive Editor of SLUG (Salt Lake UnderGround) Magazine, Craft Lake City® is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization with the mission to educate, promote and inspire local artisans while elevating the creative culture of the Utah arts community through science, technology and art. Craft Lake City strives to further define the term “Craft,” by modernizing the definition to include all handmade works of art.
craftlakecity.com @craftlakecity
Craft Lake City’s year-round programming is supported in part by the residents of Salt Lake County through the Zoo, Arts & Parks (ZAP) Program, Utah Division of Arts & Museums the George S. and Dolores Doré Eccles Foundation, the Salt Lake Arts Council and SLUG Magazine.
The 18th Annual Craft Lake City DIY Festival Presented By Harmons is Utah’s largest local-centric art, music, science and technology festival. The DIY Fest features over 500 local artisans, vintage vendors, foodies, youth entrepreneurs, performers and STEM exhibitors over three days the second weekend of August.
The 18th Annual Craft Lake City DIY Festival Presented By Harmons features the GFiber STEM Building. Additional support is provided in part by the Willard L. Eccles Foundation, Lawrence T. & Janet T. Dee Foundation, McCarthey Family Foundation, Utah Afterschool Network, Falbaum-Caillet Family Foundation, PBS Utah, 90.1 KUER, Salt Lake City Mayor’s Office ACE Grant, Marathon Petroleum, Creative West, Project Rainbow, STEM Action Center, Hypha, Utah Shirt Company, 24tix, Utah State Fairpark, XMission, VentureLab, Urban Food Connections of Utah, Utah Pirate, Mountain West Hard Cider, Uinta Brewery, Dented Brick Distillery, and Libation/LLC Sugar House Distillery.