| The Brimfield Antiques Show
began in the 1950's and has become the largest and best-know antiques show in the
country. Brimfield is a quaint, picturesque rural New England town, home to 3,000
residents. Founded in 1731, (the year before George Washington was born), the
town's 35 square miles are surrounded by apple orchards and wooded hills in an area known
as the foothills of the Berkshires. During show-times, the town's population balloons to over
250,000 visitors
and over 5,000 dealers for the 6 days the Show operates. The Show has a
carnival-like atmosphere, appropriate for all ages, where good vibes prevail, (and few, if
any problems ever present themselves).
Dealers come from all over the world as do
visitors. From millionaire world-famous rock stars, to the local resident down the street, the Show
is a Mecca for serious and casual collectors of all kinds of antiques. Generally,
only one or two of the Fields require an entrance fee, usually $5.00, which tends to be
waived later in the day.
There is plenty of parking available, at
$6.00 - 8.00 in the middle of town, a bargain in itself. Also, in the middle of the show,
the New England Motel hosts the largest and most popular food court with a wide
variety of food booths to satisfy every taste. Additionally, food carts and booths appear
throughout various locations and the wide variety of available foods has become a draw in
it's own right.
Each of the fields is required to provide
sanitary facilities, and these are clean, ventilated affairs that are checked
often for sanitary condition.
By far the largest inconvenience to the whole
show is the traffic getting into and out of town, which can range from none to over 5
miles of backup. Traffic is unpredictable, and often determined by the weather.
Occasionally, peak show times see bumper-to-bumper traffic on the main access road
for a few miles - (Rt.20E&W),
but the stream of traffic along the show route is nearly almost always a
short inconvenience compared to the surprises and experience awaiting you
ahead.
While many are curious about the staggered
show openings, thinking it carefully planned, there is no overall Town
"management" committee for the Show --each promoter sets his or her own
exhibition schedule. As the late Bob Brown, publisher of the Brimfield Antique Guide liked to say, "It all
works entirely by accident". And work it has, for 40 years! Brimfield is renown
the world over as the Outdoor Antiques Capital of the World. If you're doubtful of
that fact...take a look at the visitor statistics on this web-site (available from the
home page). With an average 30,000 requests each month, record number
of website hits in the millions, and visitors from over 26
countries...the Brimfield Shows are the undisputed King of Outdoor Shows!
For quicker access into the show, take Exit 8
on the MA Pike, (Rt. 90) through Palmer onto Rt 20 East to Brimfield.
Directions are posted at the toll booths. |
