Summer is a Good Time for Antiques at the West Palm Beach Antiques Festival

WEST PALM BEACH, FL, August 18, 2010 (Press-News.org) Kay and Bill Puchstein, owners of the West Palm Beach Antiques Festival, are feeling pretty smart these days. Bucking the traditional summer schedule of no antiquing in Florida in the summer has proved to be good thing for the Festival, the dealers and the customers. Attendance was up again at the August 7, 8 Show and the Early Buyer's program hit a new high. By changing the Early Buyer's admission from $25 to $10 for Saturday morning entry more than tripled the participation and some dealers benefited from the switch.

One dealer from Stuart made such strong sales on Early Buyers that he said he could just pack up and take the rest of the weekend off. He didn't of course but it got the ball rolling in the right direction and he had strong sales all weekend. A jewelry dealer from Coral Springs has had her best two shows ever in the last two summer shows and she has been a regular monthly dealer for ten years. One pair of dealers who had not done the Show in several years set up for the August Show and did so well they signed up for the September 4,5 event.

One dealer who has had strong sales at West Palm Beach Antiques Festival since the early 1990s is Eric Glickman, owner of Your Fondest Memories. And he has a good time doing it. He thinks his booth is the best looking booth at the Show since it is filled with all the things Baby Boomers remember from their 1950s and earlier childhoods. He has a nice selection of the coin operated dispensers that used to lure kids of the period with bubble gum, candy or peanuts. He also has a great inventory of the old advertising signs they grew up with ranging from soda fountains signs to ice cream advertising to gasoline and oil ads. But the real bait is the collection of lithographed toys backed up by the pre- War trains.

Glickman says his booth is fun place to just walk by and even better to walk into. He says the most frequently heard comment is "I used to have one like that" or "I remember that." Glickman's booth gives them the opportunity to take home the slot machine or the gasoline sign to put in the recreation room. Lots of Glickman's trains and toys have ended up on customer's shelves to decorate a den or study. He says it like being able to take a piece of their history home. Over 500 items in the Glickman booth certainly offer that opportunity.

Summer Show are 10:00AM - 5:00PM on Saturday and 10:00AM - 4:30PM on Sunday. Adult daily admission $7.00, seniors $6.00 with a 1$ discount coupon for adult admission available on the website. Anyone under 16 is admitted free. Early Buyer's admission on Saturday morning at 9:00AM is $10.00 and is good for both days. There is no charge for parking at the Fairgrounds.

The West Palm Beach Antiques Festival is held at the Expo Center at the South Florida Fairgrounds located off Southern Boulevard in West Palm Beach, FL, 1.5 miles west of the Florida Turnpike and 1 mile east of 441/SR7. For more information contact the West Palm Beach Antiques Festival at (941) 697-7475, email info@wpbaf.com or visit the website at http://www.wpbaf.com.