Covered Bridge Festival Vendor Insurance: A Practical Checklist

The 2026 Parke County Covered Bridge Festival runs October 9 through 18. If you are selling, cooking, or demonstrating anything, here is what to have in place before you set up.

Why vendor insurance matters at a festival this size

The festival is Indiana's largest, spread across multiple communities with Rockville as headquarters. Crowds that size mean uneven ground, tent stakes, extension cords, hot cooking surfaces, and a steady stream of people in and out of your space. If a customer trips over your display or a gust of wind sends a canopy into a neighbor's booth, you can be held responsible.

A general liability policy covers injuries to other people and damage to their property, plus the legal costs of defending a claim. For a vendor, it is usually the single most important coverage to carry.

The vendor checklist

• Transient Merchant License. Parke County requires a TML for festival vendors, one per booth location. Applications received after September 15 carry a late penalty, so if you have not filed yet, do it now.
• General liability coverage. Many host sites ask vendors for a minimum limit, commonly $1,000,000 per occurrence. Ask your host site exactly what they require.
• Certificate of insurance (COI). This one-page document proves your coverage. Hosts often need it before you can set up.
• Additional insured endorsement. If the property owner or organizer asks to be named as additional insured, that has to be added to the policy itself, not just typed onto the certificate.
• Product liability, if you sell food or goods. Food vendors in particular should confirm their policy covers illness or injury from products they sell.
• Coverage for your own inventory. Liability does not cover your stock, tent, or equipment. Theft or storm damage to your own goods needs separate inland marine or business property coverage.

Single-event policy or annual vendor policy?

If the Covered Bridge Festival is your only event of the year, a special event or single-event vendor policy covering the festival dates is usually the most economical choice.

If you work a circuit of markets, fairs, and festivals from spring through fall, an annual vendor or small business general liability policy often costs less than buying event coverage over and over. It also lets you issue a certificate to a new organizer quickly. See our business insurance page for how that fits together.

Selling antiques or collectibles?

Parke County draws a lot of antique and collectible dealers. Inventory you are selling is business property, and your homeowners policy almost certainly will not cover it once it leaves the house. Talk to us about covering stock in transit and on display. Your personal collection at home is a different matter, covered on an agreed-value collectibles policy.

What we need to get you a quote

• Your business name and what you sell or serve
• The festival site and dates you will be vending
• The host's coverage requirements and anyone to be listed as additional insured
• Whether you do any cooking, open flame, or live demonstrations

Call (812) 234-0766 and we will tell you what the host site needs and how quickly we can get the certificate to you.