The annual Cashiers Antiques Show is returning Aug. 4-6 to The Village Green Commons.
The show, now in its 45th year, was originally held at Blue Ridge School for the first 43 years before being cancelled in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The show was originally started by Cashiers residents Lyn K. Holloway and Ruth Raedisch, who owned the rights originally to the show, as a benefit for Blue Ridge School.
Rights to the show were then purchased by Highlands resident Pat Benton until event organizer Hazel Giles bought them 15 years ago. At that time, the show almost tripled its exhibitors from 19 to about 60 overall.
“That was a real feat because we used every possible space,” Giles said. “And we dealt with construction, we dealt with electrical wires hanging out of the ceiling, several years back and we had another one where a dealer who handled beautiful linens had the ceiling open up from condensation in the cafeteria right in the middle of her booth. We got a big trash can and she went on selling. There’s a lot of interesting things that have happened over the years, and we’ve always managed to work around them.”
Keeping with tradition, this year’s show will feature more than 40 exhibitors, and this is the second year that the event will not be held at Blue Ridge School. In the past, a portion of the proceeds from the show were donated to the school with another portion used to fund a scholarship awarded by the school.
“We have some wonderful new exhibitors, and we were able to enlarge the number in the tent because, instead of two tents, we were able to make it into one and move it up to higher ground,” Giles said.
The show has drawn exhibitors from across the United States and other countries such as England. It is also Giles’ priority to find items that are within everyone’s budget.
This year’s exhibitors hail from Ohio, Georgia, Texas, Florida, Tennessee, the Carolinas, Alabama, Pennsylvania, New Hampshire, Missouri, Maine, and England.
Giles highlighted the eclectic mix of offerings that will be part of the event next week. Local exhibitors include Giles, who lives in Glenville, Bounds Cave Rugs, and La Poma and Lapoma from Franklin.
One exhibitor from North Yarmouth, Maine, White Marine Antiques, is bringing what Giles called “museum quality art” depicting maritime history to the show this year.
Another exhibitor from the Midwest carries an unusual collection of sports memorabilia from the 1920s and 1930s, including women’s bathing suits that have been hung in beautiful frames.
“That is very exciting and very different,” Giles said. “I think the closest she’s exhibited to here is at the garden show in Nashville.”
Antiquing is a popular pastime and has been a big deal around the country, especially in the mountains to preserve the region’s history and folklore.
Giles said the show is open to anyone, regardless of whether they are serious collectors or novices to antiquing. She noted she has not met any exhibitor that does not enjoy sharing the history behind their pieces, so people who do attend the event are going to gain knowledge about each item.
Early buying begins Aug. 4 from 7:30 a.m. to 9 a.m., followed by regular hours from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. The show will continue Saturday, Aug. 5 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday, Aug. 6 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Tickets are available at cashiersbenefitantiqueshow.com for $35 for the advance buying period or $18 for general admission and are good throughout the weekend.