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Apply to Vend - San José Cat Day 2026

Apply to Vend - San José Cat Day 2026

by San José Made
$55.00

Please read through the instructions below before applying to San José Cat Day 2026. If you have any questions before or after submitting your vendor application, please email events@sanjosemade.com with the subject line "San Jose Cat Day 2026 - [Your Business Name]". 

The 2nd annual San José Cat Day, San José Made's large scale celebration of all things cats, returns on Saturday, March 21, 2026. This year's Cat Day will be happening three different San José locations: 

Open from 11 AM to 5 PM. Free admission. All ages. Any pets must be leashed and any outside pets will not be allowed near the Kitten Lounge. 

Brought to you by San Jose Downtown Association, in collaboration with San José Made, MOMENT and Mini Cat Town. In partnership with the City of San José.

 

Does your work qualify for San José Cat Day 2026?

For any SJMADE events, we do NOT consider applications where:

  • The applicant appears to be reselling mass manufactured goods (e.g. reselling items purchased from Amazon, Temu, AliExpress, etc.).
  • The applicant appears to be associated with or want to promote a large corporate business. 
  • The applicant appears to be promoting a business that cannot be considered to be involved in a creative or artistic discipline. 
  • The applicant appears to be using AI to create the artwork featured in their products.
  • The applicant appears to be wanting to sell alcohol, drugs and/or weapons

If your application can be considered to be one (or more) of the above five items, your application will be rejected and your booth fee will be refunded according to our Refund Policy for this event (scroll down below).

For San José Cat Day 2026, we will NOT be accepting any food/drink vendors. 

If you apply as a food/drink vendor, your application will be rejected and your booth fee will be refunded according to our Refund Policy for this event (scroll down below).

For San José Cat Day 2026, we will NOT be accepting any applicants who do not sell cat-themed products. 

Given the theme of this event, we will only be considering applications from applicants who sell at least six (6) different cat-themed products. We need to be able to verify this with your application materials. If you sell cat themed products but you do not have them displayed on your website or social media channels, please email us at events@sanjosemade.com with any photos and descriptions of your cat-themed products. However, it's important to note that selling cat-themed products does NOT guarantee your application to be accepted.

If your application does NOT qualify for consideration based on the terms above, your application will be rejected and your booth fee will be refunded according to our Refund Policy for this event (scroll down below).

 

Instructions on How to Apply - PLEASE READ

Failure to read application instructions may result in your application being automatically rejected.

Instructions

  1. To successfully submit your application, you must go through the online checkout process (i.e., paying for your booth). Don't worry about the pick-up / delivery method, just choose whatever. Since this is a digital vendor application, whichever option you choose will not matter.
  2. Our team will send you an admission notification (accepted / waitlisted / rejected) within the stated time (scroll down to the "Notification" section). Submitting an application to the event does NOT automatically mean your application to vend has been accepted.
  3. Note: At some point before admissions are sent out, you may receive a notification that your order status has gone from "unfulfilled" to "fulfilled". This only means that we've begun to process your application, and has no implication of application acceptance.

FAQ: "I successfully submitted my application and paid the fees. Does this mean I'm automatically confirmed to vend for the event date(s)?"

  • No. Submitting your application on our website and paying the fees associated with the application simply means that you've successfully applied to the event.
  • Once we receive your application (and booth fee), our team will review your application. You will receive an admission notification (accepted / waitlisted / rejected) within the stated amount of time on the vendor application page (see below). If your application is accepted, you're all set. If your application is rejected, we will fully refund your fees. If your application is waitlisted, you will have the option of staying on the waitlist OR withdrawing your application and receiving a full refund of your fees. 
  • What do we review? For every applicant, we will review your website (if any), Instagram (if any) and any additional content you shared with us about your work (photos, descriptions). Additionally, if you've done events with us before, we will take into consideration our past experiences with having you vend at our event(s). Please note that if you do NOT include a website or Instagram in your application, you should email us at events@sanjosemade.com with photos of your work and a description of your work and your business. Without this content, we will be unable to review your application and will reject your application to vend. 
  • Why do we jury applications? Our goal in jurying applications is to ensure that the vendors who participate in our events are good fits for the event and, therefore, are positioned for success in both sales and customer engagement. If your application is not accepted, this does not mean we don't like your work. It also does not mean that future applications from you will not be accepted. We have had many, many, many vendor applicants whose application was rejected for one event, go on to do many events with us beyond that. Additionally, we jury applications so that we can achieve a healthy balance to the diversity of product types offered at an event (i.e., not having too much of a product type represented at the event). 

FAQ: "I applied early. Does this mean my application is more likely to be accepted?"

  • No. So long as you submit your application within the application window, your application will be juried in the same fashion as other applications submitted during this window–regardless of when it was submitted within the window. 

Admissions Notification

  • The Vendor Application Deadline is Feb. 2, 2026. All applications submitted before this date will receive a vendor application status notification (via email) on Feb. 9, 2026. This status notification will share whether or not the applicant's application has been accepted / rejected / waitlisted.
  • If your application is accepted, you're all set. You'll receive further instructions and information about vending in your application status notification email.
  • If your application is waitlisted, you will have the option to remain on the waitlist OR withdraw from the waitlist and receive a full refund of your fee. Your waitlisted application notification will contain additional information to help guide you through the waitlist process.
  • If your application is rejected, you will receive a full refund of your fee, unless otherwise specified by our Refund Policy.

Any questions?

Email us at events@sanjosemade.com with the following subject line:

  • San José Cat Day 2026 - Vendor Inquiry: [INSERT YOUR BUSINESS NAME]

Notes for Vendors from Previous Years

  • Application acceptance is NOT guaranteed for vendors whose applications were accepted for a previous SJMADE event or for previous San José Cat Day events. Each year, each application is juried by our application jury regardless of what happened with your application in previous years. 
  • Booth assignments from previous years is not guaranteed upon acceptance for this year's event (or subsequent years' events). Additionally, we do not take specific booth location requests. 

 

Pricing

Application Processing Fee

  • There is a nonrefundable $5 Application Processing Fee for each application submitted. We will retain this $5 Application Processing Fee regardless of whether or not your application to vend is accepted / waitlisted / rejected. 
  • If your application is rejected or your participation is canceled, we will issue your refund per the Refund Policy (scroll down below) minus the $5 Application Processing Fee. 

 

Booth Type

NOTE: There are no corner booth options for this event. 

  • Double Booth (20'x10') (+$110). This is the largest booth size we offer through the application process. If you're interested in a booth size larger than this, please first email us at events@sanjosemade.com with your business name, website / social media (if available) and a description of what you'd be selling — however there is no guarantee that we will be interested in accommodating booths larger than double booths. 
  • Full Booth - (10'x10') (+$55). If you apply to vend using this option and your application is accepted, you will receive a full 10'x10' booth space. 
  • If you're a vendor who wants to share a 10'x10' booth space AND already knows with whom you want to SHARE YOUR BOOTH with, please select one of the above options (Double Booth or Full Booth). When filling out this vendor application, you'll be prompted to include information about your preferred boothmate (business name, name, email, website, Instagram, phone number, CA seller's permit number and any additional info). Please make sure to include your preferred boothmate's information, otherwise we will not be able to consider them for the event. If you have MORE THAN ONE preferred boothmate, please include everyone's information in the NOTES section of the application. Please note that all of the applicants within a shared booth application will be judged individually. There are rare scenarios where we accept one shared booth applicant but not the other(s).
  • We are not offering a standalone Shared Booth option for this event.

IMPORTANT: 

  • Any vendors who have NOT been officially accepted to vend at San José Cat Day 2026 will not be allowed to vend at the event. If you include another vendor within your booth space without our explicit permission prior to the event, you may be banned from all future San José Made events. 
  • Booths are non-transferable. If you decide to withdraw from the event, you will not be able to sell or transfer your booth to another vendor. If you sell your booth space to another vendor, both you and the vendor who bought the booth from you may be banned from all future San José Made events.

 

Additional Vendor Details

  • Load-in. Load-in will take place on the morning of Saturday, March 21 starting at 8 AM. Please note that you will NOT be able to bring your vehicle close to your booth space for load-in and for load-out; therefore we recommend vendors bring a cart with them to cart their items from their parked vehicle (which may be one or two blocks away) to their booth space. 
  • Canopies, Tables & Chairs. Vendors will need to bring their own canopies, tables and chairs. There will be no event rentals available. We encourage vendors who need rentals to find a local event rentals company if they need to rent any canopies, tables, chairs or other items for their booths. We normally use iCelebrate Event Rentals.
  • Electricity. We will not be providing any access to electricity.
  • No Generator Use Allowed. We will not be permitting the use of any generators at the event. If a vendor is using a generator, we will ask them to turn off the generator or risk being removed from the event entirely. 
  • Wifi. We recommend vendors use their mobile data to take transactions OR to use a mobile hotspot. Mobile wifi hotspots are available at some public libraries, such as Sunnyvale, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Alameda, and Oakland Public Libraries. The City of San José offers free public wifi ("Access SJ Downtown") in downtown San José but its reception can be spotty at times so we recommend vendors come prepared with a backup option. 

 

Refund Policy

  • To withdraw your participation from San José Cat Day 2026, please email events@sanjosemade.com and include your business name, full name and, if possible, order number. 
  • If you withdraw from the event anytime before February 20, 2026, you will receive a full refund on your booth fee minus the $5 Application Processing Fee.
  • If you withdraw from the event anytime after February 20, 2026, you will not be eligible any refund on your booth fee or any booth fee credits.
  • If your application to vend is NOT accepted, we will process a full refund of your booth fee (minus the $5 Application Processing Fee) upon sending you the notification email.

Refund Terms for Rejected Applications

If your application to vend is NOT accepted, we will process a full refund of your booth fee (minus the $5 Application Processing Fee) upon sending you the notification email EXCEPT in instances where the application: 

  • Is a duplicate application (i.e. a vendor applies multiple times for the same event)
  • Is incomplete or fails to provide sufficient information for our team to jury the applicant. One example of this would be an application that is missing a website link AND the applicant has not emailed us their product photos before the application deadline. Another example of this would be an application that includes only erroneous website links or Instagram handles, whether this is broken links or links to pages that do not represent your work and/or your business. 
  • Does not qualify for consideration for the event being applied to. This information is contained in the "Does your work qualify for San José Cat Day 2026?" above as well as below:
    • The applicant appears to be reselling mass manufactured goods (e.g. reselling items purchased from Amazon, Temu, AliExpress, etc.).
    • The applicant appears to be associated with or want to promote a large corporate business. 
    • The applicant appears to be promoting a business that cannot be considered to be involved in a creative or artistic discipline. 
    • The applicant appears to be using AI to create the artwork featured in their products.
    • The applicant appears to be wanting to sell alcohol, drugs and/or weapons
    • The applicant does NOT appear to sell any cat-themed products

    • The applicant appears to be wanting to sell food/drink (San José Cat Day 2026 will not be accepting any food/drink vendors for this event)

If any of the above applies to your application, we will retain 3% of your booth fee and refund you the remaining 97%.

If none of the above applies to your application, we will refund you fully minus the $5 Application Processing Fee. 

 

Terms

  • SAFETY: Participant will act with the highest regard for the safety of the attendees and other participants of the Event, and will adhere to all laws, policies, rules, and regulations applicable to the goods and/or activities of Participant, including obtaining all licenses, permits, and approvals that may be required to enable Participant to conduct its activities at the Event and fulfill its obligations under this Agreement.
  • LIABILITY: San José Made will not be responsible for any loss or damage to Participant’s property, injury to, or death of the Participant (or its agents, employees, and/or personnel), or Participant sales. Participant expressly assumes all risks of loss, damage, liability, injury, or destruction resulting from any cause whatsoever, including but not limited to acts or omissions by Participant, and hereby releases and waives any claims against San José Made related to such loss, damage, liability, injury, and/or destruction. 
  • INSURANCE: Participant represents that it has, or will have at the time of the Event, appropriate insurance to cover liability for the types of activities Participant will conduct at the Event. Participant covenants to be fully responsible for any of its liabilities, actions, or omissions, and will indemnify, defend, and hold San José Made (and its officers, employees, agents, vendors, affiliates, and representatives) harmless against any claims related to Participant’s liabilities, actions, or omissions.
  • RIGHT TO CANCEL: Per its Code of Conduct, San José Made will in good faith attempt to resolve any vendor's transgressions of the Code of Conduct (as well as any applicable laws) in order to preserve their ability to participate in an event. However, San José Made reserves the right, at its sole discretion, to cancel the participation of any vendor at any time before or during the event. This decision may be based on, but is not limited to, failure to comply with the Code of Conduct, inappropriate behavior, violation of applicable laws or any action deemed detrimental to the event's success, reputation, or safety. In such cases, no refund of fees paid will be issued (unless the cancelation occurs during an applicable refund eligibility window), and the vendor agrees to comply promptly with any instructions from the event organizer regarding the removal of materials and departure from the event premises.

 

Vendor Code of Conduct

  • View the Vendor Code of Conduct
  • By applying to and being accepted to our events, each vendor is agreeing to adhere to the 2026 Vendor Code of Conduct.
  • We are asking everyone to read this document before participating in any SJMADE events this year and to try their best to adhere to the following vendor code of conduct. Failure to do so may negatively affect the jurying of a vendor's future applications to our events. Egregious flouting of the vendor code of conduct may result in a vendor's removal from the event in question. 
  • We will exhaust every opportunity to avoid these situations (because we love having y’all at our events!); however, as our events have grown, it's become clear that we need to define our expectations for the participating vendors at our events and how they exist within an event's community of vendors. San José Made will in good faith attempt to resolve any vendor's transgressions of the Code of Conduct (as well as any applicable laws) in order to preserve their ability to participate in an event. 
  • However, San José Made reserves the right, at its sole discretion, to cancel the participation of any vendor at any time before or during the event. This decision may be based on, but is not limited to, failure to comply with the Code of Conduct, inappropriate behavior, violation of applicable laws or any action deemed detrimental to the event's success, reputation, or safety. In such cases, no refund of fees paid will be issued (unless the cancellation occurs during an applicable refund eligibility window), and the vendor agrees to comply promptly with any instructions from the event organizer regarding the removal of materials and departure from the event premises.
  • If you believe you'll be unable to adhere to this code of conduct, please let us know and we can discuss.

 

Scam Alert

Please feel free to share with any of your fellow vendors or vendor communities. We have seen a reported increase of instances on Facebook and Instagram of people attempting to scam prospective vendors by purporting to be "selling" the last few vendor spaces for our previous events.

In many of these cases, the scammer asks for payment via PayPal, Venmo, Zelle or some other form of digital payment after filling out a Google Form. Please note that these people (i.e. the scammers) are not associated with San José Made in any way.

We never sell vendor spaces through social media direct messages or even text messages. We only sell vendor spaces through our official website (sanjosemade.com).

If you ever encounter communication online from a non-SJMADE account purporting to be associated with SJMADE, please feel free to contact us at either events@sanjosemade.com or info@sanjosemade.com. We would be happy to verify for you whether or not the communication you've received has officially come from us. 

Please note that we cannot honor any vendor booth spaces that were purchased through channels that were not ours.