West Palm Beach Antique & Collectibles Show Takes Summer Off, Cancels Four Shows

WEST PALM BEACH, FLA.

:Show promoter dmg world media has announced that it has canceled summer editions of its West Palm Beach Antique & Collectibles Show in 2006. Those events would have taken place in July, August, September and October.

Conducted at the South Florida Fairgrounds the first weekend of every month, the event, which is billed as "one of the biggest and best antiques shows in Florida," generally draws hundreds of exhibitors who feature decorative accessories and collectibles, as well as offering on-site services for jewelry, porcelain and glass repair, doll restoration and silver and gold plating.

The canceled shows fall during the peak of hurricane season. The South Florida Fairgrounds becomes the main staging point for relief efforts by the National Guard and other organizations in the event a hurricane affects South Florida.

In the past two years, hurricanes have forced the cancellation of three shows. An additional show required substantial last-minute revisions to accommodate the housing and storage of numerous relief workers and supplies. The cancellation of the four shows is a direct result of the recent elevated hurricane activity and a desire not to impede relief efforts.

Show manager Bethany Coleman said, "We believe that canceling our summer schedule will result in greater versatility for the National Guard and cause less interference with relief efforts. We look forward to these changes because we believe that they will result in a big increase in dealer and visitor attendance."

The 2006 show schedule will resume on November 3-5, with the following show December 1-3.

Dates for 2007 are January 5-7; February 2-4; March 2-4; April 6-8; May 4-6; June 1-3; November 2-4; and November 30-December 2.

Other shows organized by dmg remain unchanged. They include the Charlotte Antiques & Collectibles Show at Metrolina Expo, Charlotte, N.C., which usually run the first weekend of every month; the Original Miami Beach Antiques Show at the Miami Beach Convention Center, Miami, Fla., which in 2007 is scheduled for January 11-15; the trade-only Miami Beach Antique Jewelry & Watch Show, also at the convention center, which is set for October 27-29 this year; the Las Vegas Antique Jewelry & Watch Show at the Rio All-Suite Hotel, Las Vegas, which has May 31-June 3 show dates in 2007; and the Atlanta International Antiques Show taking place at Cobb Galleria Centre in Atlanta on October 6-8 this year.

The Atlanta event is a new antiques show featuring more than 200 international dealers offering Eighteenth, Nineteenth and Twentieth Century furniture; Asian art; fine prints; classic modernism; Russian Impressionist paintings; antique jewelry; textiles and rugs; sterling silver and ceramics; and objets d'art.

There will be a special opening night event benefiting the Atlanta Ballet on Thursday, October 5, from 7:30 to 10 pm. Plans are currently in development to provide patrons with a performance by the Atlanta Ballet as well as the opportunity to be the first to select from the antiques offered by the show's exhibitors.

Tickets are $100 and include a multiday pass to the show. They may be purchased by emailing atlantaantiques@us.dmgworldmedia.com.

Details on all of the shows mentioned above are available at www.dmgantiqueshows.com.