: "It's early, but, let 'em in" was the call made by show promoter
Dick May as he glanced at his watch a few minutes before 9 am.
The crowd awaiting entrance to his show had swelled to
proportions large enough to block Route 20, the main artery
through town. Local police watched the mayhem in disbelief. They
had, however, had the foresight to ask the promoter earlier that
morning to consider opening the gates a few minutes early if the
crowd got out of hand and blocked the road. Mr May happily
obliged.
Like all of the "paid" markets openings that we witnessed during
the spring session of Brimfield Week, lines stretched in both
directions for at least a hundred yards and were at times turned
into a churning sea of shoppers. Each of the promoters echoed the
other with reports of "thousands" awaiting their openings; it
seemed not to be an exaggeration.
Parking lots began to fill up bright and early on Tuesday
morning. Those arriving after 7:30 am were in for a surprise as
they were forced to travel all the way through town and use the
farthest lots to the West.
Adam Henderson, Harrisburg, Pa. - Dealer's Choice.
The trend continued throughout the week and by Saturday and
Sunday when a heavy retail crowd rolled into town, lots were once
again filled to capacity. At one point during the weekend, with
parking once again proving to be problematic, Pam Moriarity of
Heart-O-Mart opened up her field to tour buses and the general
public for free parking after her show had closed for business for
the week.
The capacity crowds translated into fast and furious buying
trends at all the major fields. People waited for hours to gain
access to some of the better markets. Once in line, however,
buyers faced another problem: getting to the merch first. A mad
dash for the goods was on at every field and virtually everyone
we spoke with reported strong shows from setup to breakdown.
"The overall health of the antiques market always follows the
flea markets," commented Dick May. If his wisdom proves to be
reality and Brimfield is an indicator, the remainder of 2005 will
be gangbusters for the antiques trade. Sales were rampant as
purchases were being made in split seconds with buyers paying for
their merchandise and leaving the items behind for later
retrieval.
The "free" fields were bustling on Tuesday morning and porters
were hustling up and down the street as load after load was
delivered to awaiting vans throughout the town's various parking
lots. The Meadows opens at dawn and there is always a huge crowd
armed with flashlights ready to sort through the offerings.
Connecticut dealer Bob Sheldon was busy quoting prices and
wrapping merchandise up. "I've had a great show already," he said
just a couple hours after the market opened to the public.
The first of the "paid" fields to open was Dealer's Choice and
promoter Tom Faxon stood looking at the crowd in amazement.
Shaking his head, the promoter could only comment, "There are
thousands of them out there. Look," he proclaimed, pointing past
the coral that held close to 1,000 people alone, "Look how far
the line stretches down the road." As Tom and Lori Faxon swung
the gate to their show open at 11 am, the crowd sprinted onto the
field. Ten minutes later, the last of those standing in line
finally made their way onto the field.
Phil Liverant, Colchester, Conn. - Brimfield Acres North.
"There is nothing left to take a picture of," proclaimed
Cheryl Scott from her virtually empty booth at Dealer's Choice. She
was right; accordingly, a shot of several items with sold tags that
were stacked in the corner had to make due for the photo. Within an
hour, lots of the shoppers were making the first of many trips to
their cars to unload their purchases and getting ready to move to
the next market.
The same scenario was repeated across the street at Brimfield
Acres North two hours later as the mobs converged on that field.
Once again, a plethora of people funneled through the gate as
Colleen James swung it open at precisely 1 pm. Sales on this
field were also active as buyers raced from booth to booth
franticly making purchases.
Wednesday morning parking woes were seen once again as the sun
climbed into a crisp blue sky. Early birds were ready and poised
outside New England Motel more than an hour prior to the 6 am
opening. Owner and manager Marie Doldoorian's reaction to the
morning opening was, "Fabulous...we had a tremendous gate and a
full house of dealers and the great weather helped."
After the New England Motel, Heart-O-Mart opened across the
street at 9. On the south side of Route 20, surrounding a small
lake, this field is one of the quick hits at Brimfield. With
dealers numbering into the hundreds, the Moriartys have built
this market into one of the must-see shows for the week. Once
again dealers reported "unbelievable" amounts of selling from the
frantic buyers. The Keno twins were also seen attracting a crowd
at Heart-O-Mart promoting their new television series.
The first real "fun" of the week begins at Hertan's, where no one
is allowed to take any merchandise from their vehicle prior to
the ritual ringing of the bell by Jeanne Hertan. This is a free
market and the crowds jostle for position, swarming around trucks
and the tables set up around them. As the bell sounds,
merchandise is handed out to anxious buyers that seem to snap it
up before it can even hit the tables.
Dan Dennis, Conesville, Ohio. - Dealer's Choice.
Thursday morning at May's is a similar scenario. Unlike
Hertan's, however, May's is a paid market and buyers are kept off
the field till opening. Similarly, there is also no unpacking
allowed on this field till the gates swing open to the public.
While Hertan's has more of a hit or miss approach, May's is a
runner's field - shopping is done quickly and at a brisk pace.
Sales once again were reported as strong across the boards.
The "sisters" opened up promptly at 6 am Friday with one of the
largest gatherings of dealers ever on their family homestead.
Correctly named J&J's Antiques Fair for sisters Jill and
Judith, the daughters of Gordon Reed and the founder of
Brimfield's antiques flea markets, this is the original and still
the largest of all the fields.
Dealers moved onto their spaces late Thursday and put up tents
then filled them with antiques and some vintage collectables
during the coldest night of the week; the temperature dipped
below freezing. This long setup and a full two days of selling
activity makes this event one of the best looking shows of the
week. Jill Lukash said they "had the biggest early crowds in
memory [Friday] morning." Coupled with a sold out field, this
show was the most successful it has been in years, and once again
buying was frenzied.
Brimfield returns for the summer outing on July 5 and wraps up on
Sunday, July 10.
