Date: Fri 29-May-1998

Publication: Ant

Author: DAVIDS

Quick Words:

Brimfield

Full Text:

Brimfield

w/cuts, no cutlines

BRIMFIELD, MASS -- It was time for the year's first of three annual treks to

what has, over the course of the last three decades, surely become America's

most popular outdoors antiques event - Brimfield Week.

So as usual during the days leading up to "The Brim," the Weather Channel

becomes a perennial favorite on the television. This year, however, with the

Weather Channel being unable to provide absolutely pertinent information

(probably because I kept falling asleep just before the map of the

northeastern portion of the country was shown), it was decided that....

... a climb to the mountaintop, also known as the Mecca of the Weather Gods,

was in order. After a tireless journey through the seemingly endless torrents

of rain, followed by countless hours of meditating (all the while dodging

lightning bolts and other assorted meteorological hazards associated with the

area), the weather information regarding Brimfield Week was finally bestowed

upon myself and others headed for the promised land. "It will rain for 12

straight days and nights and then the ark-like vehicles laden with at least

one antique of every kind will come to rest in the area know as Brimfield. The

unfugacious rains will at last give way to bright and sunny May skies so that

the show may begin as scheduled. Go forth, be merry and fruitful."

As we gleefully began our descent from the mountain there was one last clap of

boisterous thunder and somewhere in it's roar, one of my many Brimfield-bound

compatriots deciphered a message. "Be sure to bring extra shoes for the mud

will surely linger."

Then I awoke, but as in my dream, it was to be.

Brimfield's fertile soils bloomed like May flowers under clear sunny skies

with miles of booths filled to the brim with vast quantities of antiques,

collectibles and just plain old junk. Unforetold hoards of buyers stalked

through the muddy paths striking up deals for every imaginable type of the

aforementioned wares.

We saw this and deemed it good.

The mud, for the most part, dried up early in the week making the show a much

safer place for the bustling crowd watching everything except for where their

feet are being placed.

While Brimfield seemed to be bustling with its usual fervor, we felt it to be

busier than ever. The thought was echoed by scores of dealers and shoppers.

Shows that had openings, such as Heart-O-The-Mart, May's, and the mega-event

at the original field were subjected to crushing crowds. At May's, the crowd

once again swarmed to proportions so large that Route 20 was closed to

traffic. Around the gate, it more closely resembled a mosh-pit at a punk rock

concert than an opening at an antiques show.

Nearly everyone we spoke with reported strong sales, and we certainly were

witness to a large quantity of merchandise being hauled off the fields. Good

to very good merchandise seemed plentiful, but pricey. Mediocre material was

vast and, for the most part, it seemed pricey, too. The junk (including

ludicrous amounts of reproductions that now dominate the roadside) was

overwhelming, although we can't comment on its price structure because we

didn't pause long enough to look at any of it.

We didn't hear of any great sleepers emerging from the depths of Brimfield.

Conversations instead focused on whether the good to very good things sold

reasonably. There were also the stories of the item that was "just missed,"

although once again talk focused strictly on condition and price.

Theft has also become an increasingly large problem at Brimfield, especially

at the shows that do not allow dealers to set up before the show opens. One of

the more interesting problems we heard of occurred last year and was reported

by show manager Richard May. May commented that bogus dealer-passes for his

show appeared on the street within an hour of his opening the gates to

exhibitors. "They scanned them and printed counterfeits with a computer and

were selling them for as much as $100," he said. This year, May had special

counterfeit-proof passes made with special foil backs and print.

The weather gods deserve a big thanks. Let's hope they are equally as nice to

us in July as Brimfield Week commences once again right after the Fourth.