‘Americana at the Piers’ Cancelled for 2002

NEW YORK CITY – A combination of several factors – the three strongest discussed by promoters here – has fueled the decision by Stella Show Management Company to cancel “Americana at the Piers” in New York City in January 2002.

“For many years, this show took place the same weekend in January as the ‘Winter Show’ and the Americana auctions at the major houses,” says show manager Irene Stella. “Despite the competition from the auctions and other shows on the opening weekend of the ‘Winter Antiques Show,’ this is when the strongest buyers are in town and many dealers’ sales figures at ‘Americana at the Piers’ reflected that.”

Dates at the Passenger Ship Piers, which correspond both to the auctions and to the “Winter Show,” are not available in 2002 or in 2003. Numerous dealers gave this show two years’ trial in 2000 and 2001 when the show fell on the early dates, and feel that the early dates are not conducive to the sales of the highest ticket rdf_Descriptions.

A second reason for canceling this year is that other bookings at the piers (trade shows and ships, not antiques events) left the Americana show relegated to Pier 88, which Stella Show Management feels in inadequate for unloading the number of large trucks this event generates. Because Pier 88 is smaller than Pier 92, this also created a hardship for a show that has been increasingly expensive to mount. It operated at break-even the past two years due to the high cost of labor to create a walled show in New York City.

Thirdly, although a number of very good dealers proclaimed “Americana at the Piers” their “best show of the year,” many other dealers felt they could better reach their customers on the following weekend. There are now three events to accommodate them, and the lack of those dealers would weaken the Americana show.

“Still many dealers are enormously disappointed,” says Irene Stella, “and Stella Show Management Company will reinstate this event when the time and place are right.”