I think I like saying the word Extravaganza just a little too much! What a fun name for an antiques/collectibles show/flea market! It's located in Springfield, Ohio at the Clark County Fairgrounds. Early bird admission is $12 (from 8am-noon on Friday) and regular admission is $7 (after noon on Friday and the rest of the weekend).
Since I had never been before, I had no idea where to find a good place to park, or if you even had a choice of parking. I turned on the road that my GPS took me to and noticed that people were parking on the side of the road. I found a pretty close spot, but it was tight. I jockeyed around for a few minutes and was thinking to myself, if the woman sitting in the SUV in front of me would just move up a foot, it would be so much easier to park!
She must have seen me struggling, because she started her car up and pulled ahead just enough so I could park easier. I'm not the best at parallel parking, even if Auntie says I can. Speaking of my junkin buddy, she wasn't able to go with me this time, so I had to go by myself. It made for a really lonnnnnng drive both there and back when I only had myself to talk to!
When I got out of my car, the lady in front of me got out of hers and I thanked her. She walked toward me and asked me if I'd ever been there before-she was a newbie too. We walked in together and wished each other good luck as we parted ways. She was off to catch up to her friend, I was off to hunt for treasures-hoping for a fun adventure.
I have to say that it is a HUGE show/sale/event! I got turned around and walked around one section at least 3 times before I found my way out! In my defense, it was at the end of the day, I was tired, my legs were worn out, and was trying to find my way back to my car. Getting turned around ended up being a good thing, because I found another section that I would have missed otherwise.
They were advertising 2500 vendors for this event, but there seemed to be a lot of empty buildings, or buildings with only a few dealers in them. It was an interesting people-watching day. I was surprised at how many senior citizens were there, I would have thought the amount of walking would have been an obstacle for older people. Most of the people though, seemed to be pretty close to my age. I saw a couple of very pregnant women, lots of people with granny carts, (it seemed like the majority of people had a cart of some sort), people riding scooters with wagons hitched to them, ride on devices that looked like a seqway with a seat, to giant, over-sized wagons the size of a dining room table!
While I was driving down there, it was dark and raining, but it soon stopped and was just really cold. I wished I would have worn something warmer than a hoodie, and was kicking myself for leaving my gloves in the car! About halfway through the day, I was kicking myself again, for leaving my sunglasses in the car! I never dreamed it would get sunny and warm after the way it was when I arrived, and from looking at the weather forecast. Note to self: always tuck in a pair of sunglasses and a small pair of stretchable gloves for spring sales!
There were LOTS of vendors selling flowers. Baskets, hanging baskets, or just flats. One place was selling Boston Ferns that were gorgeous! I only saw a couple of places selling vintage/antique metal signs, but the shabby/repurposed furniture dealers were all over the place! The interesting thing is that I didn't really see many people buying or hauling around shabby/repainted/repurposed stuff. People seemed to be going for a lot of industrial, metal, rusty stuff, linens, things they could paint or repurpose themselves, and things that recaptured their childhood.
There was a very healthy amount of vintage Pyrex, unfortunately, the prices were mostly ridiculous. I couldn't stop myself from huffing out loud with a little laugh when one dealer told me a bowl with tons of gray utensil marks inside and out was $45!! I told him no thanks with all of the marks it was too high. I was thinking if the price was cheap enough, I might buy it and see if I could clean it up with BKF.
There was one linen vendor that had a HUGE tent. It was her fist time at Springfield, but I heard her talking with shoppers who recognized her from Texas and Massachusetts. I bought the strawberries tablecloth from her. Some of her vintage tablecloths were marked over $80! The lady in line behind me was buying sets of vintage Vera napkins at $40 a set! I think I counted at least 4 sets in her hand.
To me, it seemed the prices over-all were higher than Midland, and Davisburg. Some dealers had things priced higher than I've ever seen-even in antique malls! You really had to look hard to find a bargain. They are there, but they are more the exception than the rule. At least that I what I found.
When I first got there, a good portion of dealers had tarps over their stuff because of the rain.I was worried there wouldn't be much to look at, but once the rain stopped, they were peeling back the layers so shoppers could buy their treasures. One couple was just opening up around 4, when a couple of guys were strapping tarps over their tables, or wrapping and packing up their glassware around the same time. When a fellow dealer asked a guy packing it up early why he was leaving so early, he told him he didn't feel like being there today!
I was a little nervous about going by myself, and not knowing what to expect. I even worried I might get a flat tire, or my car might break-down. Being so far from home would make it difficult for my guys to help me if either of those things happened. I just decided to go for it, and if something happened, I'd deal with it when it happened.
I'm glad I went! It was fun, and it was a new adventure.I'm not so sure I'll be in any hurry to go back though. I think having the Michigan Antiques Festival only an hour and a half away makes it easier to skip this one. Today was a really long day! I even left two hours earlier than I planned and it still was a 12 hour day.
Once I was done shopping and got back to my car, I just sat there for several minutes to rest. There didn't seem to be very many places to sit, and after all that walking my hips were sore, and my legs were tired!!! That's another nice thing about Midland, there seems to be a bunch of strategically placed sitting spots.
I'm glad I went. It was a long, tiring day, but it was something I've wanted to do for a while. It was a fun adventure, and something I can scratch off my bucket list!
Here are some pics of the things I saw today, and the things I bought...
It was really wet when I first got there.
Lots of quilts and lots of chenille bedspreads for sale.
Oh, how I love purple bottles and jars!
I bought a turquoise fridgie from this lady.
I thought making something like this for the spare bedroom might be fun!
The sun came out to dry up the mud.
$100 for a Friendship lasagna pan, or $75 for a snowflake lasagna pan.
This is a pic of the treasures I brought home today...Yes, I got kettle corn!
I stopped at Sonic on the way home for a serious dose of caffeine for the long drive.
Finally, the set is complete!
The pitcher fits in nicely!
Just need a lid and the set from my MIL is complete!
This looks orangey here but it is more of a butter yellow color...any idea what set it is from?
Tablecloths on my ladder in the sun room.
Coupons for the food vendors! I used the $1 off a bag of kettle corn!
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