Sold Out Show Starts West Palm Beach Antiques Festival Regular Season Schedule

The holiday show features 400+ dealers for the December 2, 3, 4 Festival. End Quote

West Palm Beach-Boca Raton, FL (1888PressRelease) November 14, 2011 - The return to the regular three day schedule for the West Palm Beach Antiques Festival held November 4, 5, 6 also marked the return of many northern dealers and customers who shared their horror stories of floods and heat waves over the summer. The returnees and the regular visitors reveled in the first seasonally cool weekend of the season with no rain and temperatures in the 70s. The nice weather brought record crowds of buyers who were treated to a sold out antique show with over 400 dealers in attendance.

Early buyers lined up Friday morning hoping to find some treasures and they were not disappointed. Among the choice finds was a steam engine display that sold right away Friday morning for $1000 by Jack Knapp, well known toy dealer from New York and Venice, Florida. Another great find was a late 1700's tiger maple drop leaf table with a single board top 20 inches wide. It was Hepplewhite style with an eastern Pennsylvania provenance and an old finish. It was offered by Dot Lawrence, a Pennsylvania dealer wintering in Key Largo. Lawrence had a super show selling about a dozen oil paintings, furniture and tons of smalls.

Another of the reasons to visit the West Palm Beach Antiques Festival, other than finding great deals on antiques and collectibles, is simply to have fun. And that's what dealer Tammy Vingo in Booth 189 says she is there for - to help you and your family have a good time without breaking the bank.

Tammy specializes in fashion and costume jewelry but she also has a large selection of inexpensive items like Disney trading pins for kids and interesting lapel pins for both men and women. She says the entire family can visit her booth and every member walks out with a grin and some little fun something for less than $20 - for the family.

Tammy and her husband Anthony operate through a business called T & A Liquidators. And how they got to the Festival three years ago is an interesting story. When Anthony's job as a carpenter ended in the late 1990s the couple decided to strike out in a new direction. Tammy had always been interested in antiques and collectibles and figured one way to get started was to attend storage auctions. After buying their first storage locker they realized that now they had something to sell so they set up at the Thunderbird Flea market in Ft. Lauderdale. Tammy began to notice that in many storage lockers they acquired there was always a jewelry box of some sort and while not containing high end gold and silver items, many of the less expensive articles did well at the Thunderbird booth.

In 2002 after moving to West Palm Beach the Vingos started setting up at Lake Worth Flea Market. Then they ran into Louise and Ray Lank, dealers at the West Palm Beach Antiques Festival. After visiting the Festival and talking to Festival owners Kay and Bill Puchstein they pulled up stakes and have set up there for over three years exclusively. And Kay told Tammy she could have that location for life if she wanted it. So far she does.

While Vingo says they do get the occasional Tiffany or Rolex piece that is not their main focus. Tammy really is partial to antique jewelry over 100 years old and to modern fashion jewelry of the second half of the 20th century. Her emphasis is on "fun jewelry" as she calls it. Over 25 per cent of their sales are to regular retail customers and they actively buy unusual items from customers but one of their mainstays is the dealer trade. They have such a wide variety that many dealers buy from them in early buying on Fridays to take to other parts of the country for sale.

The West Palm Beach Antiques Festival regular season three day format continues with the December 2,3,4 show. It will open with over 400 dealers in place with many northern dealers now set up for the winter season. Early buyers start at 9am Friday December 2 for $25 and the ticket is good for all three days. The show opens to general admission at noon on Friday to 5pm, Saturday 9 to 5 and Sunday 10 to 4:30 for $7 and Seniors $6. Anyone under 16 is admitted free. There is no charge for parking at the Fairgrounds.

The West Palm Beach Antiques Festival is held 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 dot com or visit the website.

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