Antique fair continues to grow at fairgrounds in Easton

as posted on Washington County LDC News and The Post Star

If you go:

Fair and Flea Market at the fairgrounds

Where: Washington County Fairgrounds, Old Schuylerville Road, Easton

When: 8 a.m. – 6 p.m. April 30 and 9 a.m. – 4 p.m. May 1

Details: Admission $2, children under 14 admitted free. For more information, call Mike Green, 331-5004

Other dates of interest at the fairgrounds:

– Farm Museum opens to the public: 10 a.m. – 3 p.m. April 30-May 1.

– Farm Museum School House historical dedication presentation: 1 p.m. on May 7

– Washington County Fair: Aug. 22 – 28. 

EASTON — Mike Green runs the antique fair and flea market at the Washington County Fairgrounds twice a year. Each successive year has seen a gradual increase in both dealers and customers.
“It has been steadily rising. With the economy, the focus has shifted away from the antique shops and more to events and shows like this,” said Green, who took over the event about seven years ago from his uncle George.
The two-day fair has come a long way since its more modest beginnings in the mid-1990s.
“It started off really small with 30 or 40 dealers and now we’re up to about 200,” Green said.
“What’s also changed is with the advent of the Internet, people tend to know what to look for. They also know what everything is worth so the bargaining game is a little more difficult,” he added.
Last May, the fair drew an all-time high of 213 exhibitors and a record attendance of 5,000 people. Typically, the showcase in May garners more attention from a public searching for everything from furniture and glassware to tools and dozens of other specialties than does the August exhibition at the fairgrounds, Green said.
“We have so many different dealers and there is a lot of variety,” he said.
“We get dealers coming from Florida, from Idaho, from Canada. Most of them are local, but we have a little more of the traveling dealers for the spring show, because the week after our show there is one in Massachusetts,” he said.
“A lot of our dealers will come here and then go over and do that show.”
This year’s spring show takes place April 30 and May 1. Admission is $2 for adults. A special “early buyer” pass, which costs $10, provides serious buyers access to the grounds a day earlier, prior to the gates opening to the public. Dealers may register for the show up to April 28, Green said.