Liberty Antiques Festival

This past weekend I attended the Liberty Antiques Festival.  Even though the event has been around for years, this was my first time attending.  There has always been some reason why I have not been able to go before.  Back when I was working in catering, it almost always fell during furniture market.  And we had no choice but to work furniture market, so I missed it, both the September and April versions as they do it twice a year.  So, this year, since I had the time, I decided to go.

Michael was not able to go with me because he was fighting a cold.  But, he insisted that I go, which was very thoughtful of him because he knew how much I was looking forward to it.  I asked my friends Jonathan and Travis to go and they agreed that we would meet up after Jonathan got home from his mother's.  It took me about a half an hour to get there, but it was a pleasant drive down 421 South, so I didn't mind.  When I got to Liberty, I followed the well marked signs to the festival, passing fields of cars of attendees.  I feared would have to park far away, but lo and behold, I got a space in the first row when I pulled into the lot.  My timing was good that day.

I got there before my friends, so I went ahead and got my ticket and walked in.  They were coming from Burlington, so I was not sure exactly when they would get there.  Anyway, it was pretty amazing.  So many tents full of stuff.  I started in the middle, where the entrance was, and did the first half by myself.  There were so many fun things to look at.  Lots of furniture, glassware, dishes, artwork, etc.  You name it, it was there...almost haha. 

Walking around, they had lots of food there too.  Burgers, hot dogs, bbq, gator kabobs, shaved ice, homemade desserts from a local church.  The smells were incredible.  So were the sun and the heat.  In my rush to leave the house, I neglected both sunscreen and a hat.  Luckily, I did not burn.  That would have been bad.

Jonathan and Travis got there about an hour after I did.  We hit the other side of the festival.  They lucked out and found a pair of paintings at a great price.  Sadly, I did not find anything I couldn't live without.  I have an earlier blog post talking about my antiques wishlist.  There was not one thing on that list that I found.  And, believe me, I was looking.  And when we went from tent to tent, I found lots of interesting things that made me think "Hey, I've got something similar to this in a box....somewhere."  and I would keep on going.  It really made me appreciate the things that I have and instilled a longing in me to find them and use them.

After a few hours in the hot sun, having had a red raspberry shaved ice which was so yummy, it was time to head back home.  As my friends went one way to pick up their purchases, I went the other way to my car.  Getting out of the parking lot was as easy as getting in.  It was a very fun festival and I'm glad I went.  I look forward to the one in April.  I will be there!