First Show Of The Season For The West Palm Beach Antiques Festival

Oct. 15, 2009 - PRLog -- (West Palm beach, FL) The West Palm Beach Antiques Festival is Florida’s largest show. During the 2009 Summer hiatus West Palm Beach Antiques Festival owners, Bill and Kay Puchstein, consolidated their ownership position by acquiring the partial interest formerly owned by Jim and Yvonne Tucker.

Under the Puchsteins some things will remain the same such as the highly popular Early Buyer’s admission policy on Fridays allowing buyers into the Festival before formal opening to have first selection on choice items but other things will change. This season will include upgrading the appearance of the entrance area to garden, decorative architectural items and live plants. The entrance lobby will now be professionally decorated each month by different dealers. The January show, January 1-3, 2010, will host the 1st annual Antiques and Modernism event. This is a new combination of the traditional West Palm Beach Antiques Festival show and the West Palm Beach Modernism show. Modernism dealers from all over the country will be offering the finest in Arts and Crafts, Mid-Century, Nouveau, Glass, Pottery, European Furniture and Accessories, plus much more. Mark your calendars now.

Dealer/visitor interaction is always one of the favorite features of the festival and one of the dealers of special interest to both newcomers and old Florida hands is the continued appearance of the guru of vintage Florida souvenirs, memorabilia and collectibles, Larry Roberts. Roberts is the author of “Florida’s Golden Age of Souvenirs 1890-1930” and is THE acknowledged expert on the subject. Roberts has been managing to tear himself away from his retail shop in Micanopy, FL to set up at the West Palm Beach Antiques Festival for nearly twenty years.

He specializes in pre 1950 examples of Floridiana and usually has more than 1,000 objects plus post cards and paper goods in his West Palm Beach booth. In recent years Roberts has also expanded his childhood interest in and collection of Native American artifacts from Florida and pre-Colombian artifacts from South America. This was one of Robert’s earliest pursuits and he has returned to it with vigor with examples of both in his booth. Roberts said, “I have really good shows in West Palm Beach. I have a number of regular customers who love to peruse and buy from my paper goods and early Florida photos stock.”  

The Americraft Expo Center at the South Florida Fair is located off Southern Boulevard in West Palm Beach, FL, 1.5 miles west of the Florida Turnpike and 1 mile east of 441/SR7. Show hours are 12PM – 5PM Friday November 6, 9AM – 5PM Saturday November 7 and 10AM –4:30PM Sunday November 8. Early Buyers Admission from 9:00 – 12:00 Friday is $25 and is valid for the entire weekend. 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. There is no charge for parking at the Fairgrounds. For more information contact the West Palm Beach Antiques Festival at (941) 697-7475, email info@wpbaf.com or visit the website at www.wpbaf.com.

PHOTO CAPTION FOR WEST PALM BEACH ANTIQUES FESTIVAL
Alligators are never an endangered species in Larry Roberts’ booth of Florida souvenirs, memorabilia and collectibles.

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The West Palm Beach Antiques Festival is one of Florida's biggest and best antique shows and is held 8 times a year at the Americraft Expo Center at the South Florida Fairgrounds located at 9067 Southern Blvd. It attracts dealers from all over the country. These dealers show and sell a vast array of antiques, collectibles and decorative accessories including jewelry, vintage, porcelain, pottery, china, glass, dolls, toys, furniture, art, paintings, Objects D’Art, clocks, silver, vintage, garden accessories and much more . The purpose of the West Palm Beach Antiques Festival is to create a place where decorators, designers, collectors, hobbyists and the curious can find a vast array of dealers in one location. Shows times and admission are Early Buyers 9 AM – 12 PM ($25 good for entire weekend), Friday 12 PM – 5 PM, Saturday 9 AM – 5 PM, Sunday 10 AM – 4:30 PM. Adults $7, under 16 Free, Seniors $6.00