Having headed up more than one quilt show, here are some facts. It's expensive in dollars and labor intensive. The cost of initially buying/renting the apparatus to hand quilts can be extremely expensive. Then you most often have to rent the space, hire a guard(s), print fliers, do PR in newspaper, etc. And don't forget liability insurance for both injuries and the quilts. That in itself is enough to make you cringe. Then there is the setup that takes a boatload of volunteers not only for quilts, but vendor tables, etc. Most shows/guilds fund some of the profits into scholarships or some other type of pay-it-back. I understand your monetary concerns about the entry fee, but few shows have an option of free facility and PR. Bottom line, it costs hard cold cash to put on a quilt show. And prices for everything are going up. I also hope that fees do not reach the $10 mark, but I don't object to $7 or $8 knowing what it costs for me to spend time with what I love to do.
SandyQuilter