Madison-Bouckville Antique Week

Treasure Hunting ’til Your Legs Give Out!

We didn’t know exactly what to expect when we made our first trip to the Madison-Bouckville Antique Week this past weekend, and in the end I’d say we were over-matched.

Yes, we had done our research and knew it is the largest antique show in New York State with over 2,000 dealers spread over 14 show fields along 2 miles on Route 20. But I can’t say we were prepared for what that actually means. If you plan to go next year, here’s what you need to know:

1. Plan more than one day. We only had Saturday to explore, and I’m guessing we only saw 20% of the show.

2. Reserve a hotel room early, like months early. Hamilton is probably the closest and best town to stay in. That’s where Colgate University is, so there are decent hotels. We stayed in Syracuse and had an hour drive back after an exhausting day – mistake.

3. Wear comfortable shoes and pull a collapsible cart. It’s too far to go back to the car often. Lola was the only one in our group who had sensible accommodations, and she was the star of the show! Can’t tell you how many people stopped to visit with her!

4. The show is free, but if you want to go to the Big Field, where a few hundred of the higher-end dealers are located in huge white tents, admission is $7 per person.

5. If you want to see as much of the show as possible, print and take the map from the show website with you so you know where you are and how much more there is to see. The map is available here: http://www.madison-bouckville.com/members.html. Note, the Big Field is not on the map, but it is located off Route 20 to the south, behind the Out Front show area.

6. Negotiate! They say Madison-Bouckville is a buyer’s show, and we believe it! We found a beautiful Adirondack pack basket at one of the first booths we visited, and off the bat the dealer offered us 50% off!

We bought 14 fabulous items that will be listed at vintageadirondack.com this week … and we’ve almost recovered from the experience!