Antique show just gets better with age

By STEVE JONES
Staff Writer

The Danville Antique and Garden Show appears to have something in common with the vintage valuables on sale during its running.
It gets better with time.
The show, now in its seventh year, and fourth straight since a brief layoff in the late '90s, has become a regular stop on the agenda of first-rate antique and garden dealers. 
The show is sponsored by Heart of Danville, an advocacy group for the upkeep of a historic and vital downtown. The show is Heart of Danville's only fund-raising event of the year.
Scheduled for 10 a.m. -5 p.m. Friday through Sunday at the Combs Center Warehouse at Centre College, the show will bring 21 dealers from around the nation. There is a one-time admission fee of $5 to attend during the weekend.
Heart of Danville Director Julie Wagner said she is pleased that spots in the show have been in such high demand among antique dealers since its resurrection in 1999.
"In three years we really turned it around to where we have dealers waiting to get in at the last minute, where (in 1999) we were just trying to get enough," Wagner said.
Wagner, who expects about 500 visitors over the weekend, said the demand of the dealers to get in proves the high overall value of the show and the merchandise being sold.
"Our show is of the utmost quality and comparable to any show in the country," she said. "We won't take just any dealer. Our real benchmark is that (the dealers) ask us to come to our show. We're not begging them."
Shoppers are invited 1-4 p.m. Saturday to bring in an antique for an expert appraisal by Charlie Miller, who is the show coordinator and a dealer from Chapel Hill, N.C.
The Heart of Danville is especially anticipating an appearance by garden dealer Sands Orchids from Florida. 
Wagner encourages the community to attend Heart's preview party Thursday night at the Warehouse. Entertainment will be provided by After Six, a local jazz band led by Dr. Mack Jackson. Food also will be served. The cost of the preview party is $25 per person, which includes access to the weekend's sales. Reservations are recommended and can be made by calling Heart of Danville at 236-1909.
The following dealers are scheduled to come: Betsy Witt, Danville; Christopher Robin Allen Antiques and Fine Art, Durham, N.C.; Cinnamon Hill, Nashville, Tenn.; Clipper Trading Company, Savannah, Ga.; Dana Kelly Oriental Rugs, Lexington; Davis-O'Reilly Antiques, Northport, Ala.; Drackett Designs, Cincinnati; EJT Antiques, Montgomery, Ala.; Flo Deer, Little Rock, Ark.; Gold Leaf, Atlanta; Hart Art, Louisville; Joseph McDonough Fine Art, Atlanta; Lina's Interiors, Greenville, Miss.; Miller, Hamilton and Company, Chapel Hill, N.C.; Mimi's Antiques, Columbia, Md.; Ruth Scully Antiques, Louisville; Sands Orchids, New Smyrna, Fla.; Shelton Gallery, Nashville, Tenn.; Sue Robinette, Monticello; Cottage Gardens, Westmoreland, Tenn.; and Bohemian Brigade book dealer, Knoxville, Tenn.