There were not as many dealers as last year, about 30, but that did not seem to slow down either the preview attendance on Friday, September 14, or the traffic on Saturday for the 16th annual Adirondack Mountains Antiques Show. “We plan food for 150 people for the Friday preview, and that is pretty close to the number we ended up with,” Jerry Oliver, now consultant to the show, said. Advance sales totaled close to 100, at either the early price of $40 or the last minute price of $50, and another 40 people bought tickets at the door.
On Saturday morning, prior to the show opening at 10 am, cars lined the road outside Byron Park and there were no openings on the small side road across the main drag. “People are buying, it is going well,” Jon Magoun said a couple of hours after the show had opened. Friday evening, after the preview closed, he had delivered a set of four chairs, a table, several pack baskets and a large moose head. Other show regulars, including Linda Davidson of Landrum, S.C.; Jeff Cherry of Damariscotta, Maine; Robert Ross of Florence, Mass.; and Dave Kittredge of Field and Stream, Mansfield, Conn., all spoke well of sales.
As usual, a number of the exhibitors were set up under the large pavilion, about eight occupied the tent provided by the management and others pitched their own tents, all with sides and tarps nearby and an eye on the weather. A bit of sun broke through now and then, but for the most part it was cloudy with a few scattered drops of rain. “Most of this stuff can take any kind of weather,” one dealer said, pointing out some rustic porch furniture and a couple of pieces for the garden. Those with moose heads and other displays of taxidermy were more weather conscious.
This year only three dealers came with one or more canoes, some equipped for sailing, and a selection of Jitter-Bugs was offered in one of the many display cases featuring fresh water fishing plugs. All kinds of early fishing documents were offered, including permits, photographs and badges, and leg-hold traps were stacked a foot high on a long table. In fact, it seemed that every interest of early life in the Adirondacks was represented at the show, and appreciated by those who came to shop.
Vonnie Liddle, events/activities coordinator for the Town of Indian Lake, was pleased with the turnout on both Friday and Saturday, but indicated that there would be a real effort to add more exhibitors next year. “This show is really popular, we have a good time doing it and it is a great benefit for the town, but we are going to build up the dealer list for 2008,” she said.
Next September the show will preview on the 19th and be open on the 20th.
‘Road Show’ Fills Yards & Parking Lots In The Town Of Indian Lake
As early as Monday, four days prior to the preview opening of the Adirondack Mountains Antiques Show, dealers start popping up along the east-west road that runs through the Town of Indian Lake. Some have staked out large parcels rented from local home-owners, while others have just space enough to pitch a rather small tent. Even locals take advantage of the traffic that will be generated over the next six days and set up shop in their own garage or yard.
“You never know what you will find along the road,” one shopper said as she popped in and out of a row of tents. She indicated that shopping the road was all part of her trip to Indian Lake and it was “like a dry run before going to the Adirondack Show.” Our guess is that few, if any, of the dealers doing the antiques show miss out on the opportunity to check out the inventory of the “roadies.”
All is fair game along the road, and a good number of the booths are filled with new or made-up items. A number of booths look like Lake Champlain “tourist trap” gift shops, but that does not seem to discourage some of the visitors. Most of the displays are filled with the genuine article, and it is not uncommon for a dealer to be set up on the road and also have space at the show.
This year the Town of Indian Lake decided it was time to do new sidewalks and bury wires, but, according to one local vendor, town officials said, “It will all be done by the time the show rolls around.” Not so. Instead drivers had to concentrate more on missing the orange cones lining the street or falling into two-foot-deep trenches than check out the road-side booths and find a place to park. And if driving was difficult, the walking was not much better. It seems as if the contractor on the job finished a patch of sidewalk, then skipped a bit and started up again. But you know, it was not annoying enough to keep one from shopping.
The “Road Show,” as the Magoun Bros sign reads, really says it all for the activity in town. It is fun, a warm-up for the Antiques Show, and one more reason to head for Indian Lake the third week of September.
