You couldn't flip a coin to decide which show to go to first in Manchester, New Hampshire, on Wednesday morning, August 7 because three shows opened at 10 o'clock: Frank Gaglio's Barn Star Productions' Midweek in Manchester at the Wayfarer Inn, Apple Hill Promotions' Riverside at the New Hampshire State Armory, and the McHugh show at the J.F.K. Coliseum. (To be fair, McHugh had an early buyer preview the night before from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. for $20, and word got out that McHugh's was no competition for the others. The uninitiated, however, would have had a hard time deciding where to go first, if they depended on the ads.)
As one shopper put it, "Manchester needs an antiques czar to schedule staggered openings."
If Barn Star and Apple Hill managements had flipped a coin and said, "Heads you get the ten a.m. opening, tails you open at one p.m.," both shows might have had an onslaught of buying like that at the New Hampshire Antiques Show the following morning, when close to 2000 eager buyers filled the aisles, and in two hours red sold dots had erupted like German measles. That day, Gaglio opened Midweek at 1 p.m., and his 95 dealers provided the major competition for collectors.
That is not to say that the Barn Star and Apple Hill shows weren't successful shows; they were. More than half of the 3000 who came to the NHADA show also found their way to these spin-off shows, which are far too serious to be called tailgates, though they grew in the wake of the NHADA show. Although there was not a real opening rush to buy at Midweek, there was steady, considered shopping, and buyers came back the next day and made decisions on some major purchases.
The roster of 95 dealers was impressive indeed. There was a good mix of the well-known stars often seen at the top shows in New York and Pennsylvania, plus some new faces with first-rate (mostly) country antiques. It was a tough call to say whether the quality of the objects for sale was higher at the NHADA show or at Barn Star's Midweek. There was plenty to delight the eye and deplete the pocketbook at both.
As one showgoer put it, "I went around Midweek clockwise on Wednesday, and on Thursday I went around counterclockwise and saw entirely different shows."
Dealers sold and rearranged their booths, shopped all the other shows, and bought from each other. They often put out their purchases and made some quick profits.
There is no question that Manchester, New Hampshire, is the place to be in early August if you like Americana. It's where the clan gathers in the summertime, and there is as much enthusiasm for buying as there is at Americana Week in New York City in January. Collectors come from as far away as Oregon, California, Texas, and the Midwest, as well as from the East. "I'm so excited. We don't see such good stuff where I come from," said Mary Boyd of Austin, Texas, after measuring a red-painted wardrobe at Valerie and Dennis Bakoledis's booth.
There is a relaxed atmosphere at Midweek, but it is not without energy. It's fun! This was the third year for Midweek in Manchester, and it seems to have hit its stride.
Show manager Gaglio received high praise from the dealers, who said setup the day before the opening was hot but worked well and gave them a chance to do some pre-show shopping, which was not possible last year when setup began in the morning, and the show opened at 4 p.m. Gaglio said he picked the 10 a.m. opening time this year because the morning is cooler under the tent where two thirds of the dealers exhibit. Only 29 dealers got space in the air-cooled convention center.
The weather had been cool all summer until Antiques Week, and then it heated up, as if to demonstrate that Americana is hot.