Antiques vendors, some from local shops, others who follow a show circuit, attract throngs of people. And every now and then there are a few individuals just cleaning out sundry objects stored in an attic, basement or barn. Some events are organized by civic groups such as the Lions Club or Chamber of Commerce, sometimes to raise money for worthy causes. The proceeds from the Los Altos show, for example, benefit the annual Festival of Lights Parade. Many of these extravanganzas now are produced by professional, full-time promoters rather than by volunteers.
Dealers pay an established fee to rent their booths.
The fairs are usually held in downtown business districts, from Gilroy to Mountain View to Benicia and beyond. The night before the sale, the normally busy thoroughfares are cordoned off, regular traffic rerouted and any improperly parked vehicles towed in preparation for the expected hordes of visitors. The streets become friendly pedestrian walkways where as few as 60, and as many as several hundred, antiques vendors pitch tents literally in some cases forming a makeshift city up and down and all around each town s roadways and alleys. By dawn, there s a vast array of furniture, rugs, silver, toys, glass and china, linens, postcards, dolls, prints and paintings, books, mirrors, jewelry, cameras, and tools on display. Luckily, I m seldom disappointed.