Antiques Dealers In Washington

This Weekend For Annual Show

WASHINGTON — In New England, autumn is a time of harvest, of gathering together. What better season, then, to present a cornucopia of antiques amid a setting of fellowship and friends?

That is exactly what visitors will find when they converge on Bryan Memorial Town Hall in Washington this weekend. The 1999 Washington Connecticut Antiques Show will be up and running October 8 to 10.

“Here in northwest Connecticut, the seasons bind us together. And probably the most graceful modern sign of that comes every fall with the Washington Antiques Show,” explained Jack Rosenthal, the honorary chairman of this year’s event. “It brings us all together — year-round residents, weekenders and visitors alike — in a setting of natural beauty, glamorous fellowship and burnished history,” said the Washington resident, a Pulitzer Prize-winning editor who serves as editor-in-chief of The New York Times Magazine.

The excitement this year begins with a gala preview party on Friday, October 8, from 6:30 to 9:30 pm. The evening’s festivities will include cocktails, a moveable feast and a chance to inspect the offerings of a diverse selection of dealers while mingling with friends, neighbors and newcomers.

Twenty-two national antiques dealers, a combination of long-time participants and several new exhibitors, will be exhibiting their specialties at this year’s event.

The antiques show will feature 18th and 19th Century American and European furniture, rare accessories, paintings, vintage and estate jewelry, rugs, pottery, ceramics, antique garden furnishings and accents, and much more.

The 1998 Washington Connecticut Antiques Show drew thousands of antiques lovers and generated more than $40,000 for the Gunn Memorial Library & Museum. Proceeds from the annual event are used to fund a wide variety of adult and children’s programs, books, materials and exhibits for an ever-growing constituency.

“The diverse selection of antiques, the quality of dealers and dedicated committee of volunteers all contribute to make this show the best in its class, and I’m proud to once again be involved in its planning,” said 1999 event chairman Joanne Caldara.

Tickets to the Preview Party are $75 for sponsor, $100 for patron and $150 for benefactor. All tickets include the wandering feast and cocktails at the gala opening and weekend admission to the show.

The antiques show will be open to the public on Saturday, October 9, from 10 am to 6 pm, and Sunday, October 10, from 11 am to 5 pm.

General admission to the antiques show on Saturday and Sunday is $6, payable at the door. For further information, call 860/868-0780.