“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 andSunday when a heavy retail crowd rolled into town, lots were onceagain filled to capacity. At one point during the weekend, withparking once again proving to be problematic, Pam Moriarity ofHeart-O-Mart opened up her field to tour buses and the generalpublic for free parking after her show had closed for business forthe 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,” proclaimedCheryl Scott from her virtually empty booth at Dealer’s Choice. Shewas right; accordingly, a shot of several items with sold tags thatwere stacked in the corner had to make due for the photo. Within anhour, lots of the shoppers were making the first of many trips totheir cars to unload their purchases and getting ready to move tothe 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. UnlikeHertan’s, however, May’s is a paid market and buyers are kept offthe field till opening. Similarly, there is also no unpackingallowed 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 arunner’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.