By W.A. Demers

NANTUCKET, MASS. — The Antiques Council is taking a different tack for the upcoming summer show season here, announcing the Nantucket Summer Antiques Show, which will be presented August 12-15, 2016, at a new venue and sponsor, the Boys and Girls Club.

The Boys and Girls Club, the new venue for the Nantucket Antiques Show, is located at 61 Sparks Avenue, a convenient, central location, according to the Antiques Council.

For the past 26 years, the Antiques Council has managed the Nantucket August Antiques Show, a benefit event for the Nantucket Historical Association (NHA). After 38 years of hosting an antiques show, the NHA has made the decision to focus its fund-raising activities on a week of events centered on design. The association is bringing the event “in-house,” decamping from Bartlett’s Farm and planning a series of designer luncheons, panels and family-friendly outings among its historic properties. “The board looked at the cost of putting on the antiques show and in light of the growing interest in design decided on this path,” said Stacey Stuart, NHA’s special events manager. “We’re not chopping antiques entirely out of the picture, but we’re looking for ways to interest families in getting out to our sites and engaging a larger and younger group of people.”

For its part, the Antiques Council said it believes that there is still a strong interest in antiques on the island and is planning to continue the tradition at the Boys and Girls Club, which it points out is in a central and easily accessed location, providing an air-conditioned space with convenient and ample parking. A show logo has been designed, and the council said it will mount a major advertising campaign both on and off the island to support the show.

The Antiques Council’s new logo for the Nantucket Summer Antiques Show.

The Antiques Council show will consist of 35 dealers from the United States and abroad. Specialties will include marine antiques, antique furniture, maps, prints, botanicals, silver, antique rugs and garden antiques. In addition dealers will focus on antique jewelry, clocks, ceramics, antique wicker, midcentury art and design, as well as items of special interest to the history of Nantucket.

In a prepared release, Marty Shapiro, president of the Antiques Council, summed up the enthusiasm and excitement surrounding this show. “We see enormous potential for a fine antiques show with an exciting list of dealers on the island of Nantucket. This show will encompass the rich history of Nantucket with a focus on the needs and interests of the islands homeowners and visitors today. The team developing this show includes Kaye Gregg, director of shows, Alan Cunha, David Bernard, Victor Weinblatt, facilities manager, and Paulette Peden, advertising and promotion.”

The summer is an especially active season on the island, said the NHA’s Stuart, and the prime stretch of the first full week in August will remain for NHA’s roster of events. “When we started, NHA was the only non-profit on the island and now there more than 190,” she said, an important consideration in not losing grasp of the public’s attention among the island’s many summer rhythms. Thus, the NHA’s events will run August 2-7, with a designer event on August 3, a cocktail party the night before and other activities still in the planning stages. Stuart said she is working with this year’s chair, Maureen Sennessy Bousa, to facilitate the program.

The Antiques Council’s dates put its events toward the end of New Hampshire Antiques Week and the New Hampshire Antiques Dealers Association show, which runs August 11-13. The 2016 Newport Antiques Show is July 28-31. “We have heard no complaints from dealers about the date change, so don’t anticipate any impact with Newport,” said the council’s Gregg.

For additional information about the Nantucket Historical Association, www.nha.org. For information about the Antiques Council show, www.antiquescouncil.com.