A Successful New Home

For Antiques Show

By Kendra Bobowick

Changes were for the better on March 3, when the 22nd Annual Newtown Historical Society Antiques Show enjoyed a successful day of dealing.

“I was happy, there was more energy and excitement for me,” said Nancy Taylor, the historical society’s vice president and show manager.

Rather than setting up booths and arranging their jewelry, furniture, figurines, and more in the downstairs gymnasium at Edmond Town Hall, as had been done for the past decade, vendors enjoyed a larger space at Newtown High School.

“This was our first time here,” Ms Taylor said. “We have more booths, more room, new dealers, and food is available.” Glancing at the many visitors moving through the booths and displays, she continued, “This has been a very good site with a good crowd and good flow.”

Hirsh Antiques owner Jamie Heuschkel has attended the show for roughly ten years. “It always worked for me,” he said.

Several times Ms Taylor noted that the show had a “good gate,” meaning the event was well attended. “The crowd flowed all day long,” she said. Dealers and collectors discussed furniture, to hand-crafted figures from as far as Japan.

Annually, the antiques show serves as Newtown Historical Society’s biggest fundraiser.

Naming a few improvements the society would like to fund, Ms Taylor said, “We need a new roof.” The Matthew Curtiss House at 44 Main Street serves as the town’s history museum, and the roof is a part of its ongoing maintenance. Money raised at the antiques show also will go toward program funding, she said.

Thirty-one vendors touted their antique collections from Connecticut, alongside dealers from New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, and Maine.

“I tried to get a diverse collection of dealers so there were a lot of eras and periods represented,” Ms Taylor said. “It’s not all country or glass, but a variety.”

She anticipates repeating the change in location next year, saying people found the food, the day, the venue, and easy access to be enjoyable.