The Brimfield Antique and Collectibles Show

Traveling has always been one of my passions. It exposes us to new cultures and experiences and makes the world a more tolerant place.

We finally made it! After years of thinking about attending the Brimfield Antique and Collectibles Show, we finally managed to make our way to the rural community of Brimfield, located in central Massachusetts. If you live here in New England and have an interest in antiques and collectibles, then you have certainly heard of the Brimfield show. It is touted as the largest show of its kind in the country, and I have no reason to doubt this claim.

Located right on route 20, which is the main road through Brimfield, the Antique Show stretches for about a half mile and goes up to 500 feet deep on both sides of the road. It encompasses 23 fields and quite literally goes on for as far as the eye can see. This means that there are thousands of dealers showing their wares and you can find pretty much anything you are interested in if you look hard enough. The show attracts the most serious of collectors from all over the world as well as the casual collector simply interested in looking around for an afternoon. It all adds up to a carnival like atmosphere that draws thousands of visitors to Brimfield each year.

Schedule

The really unique thing about the Brimfield Antique Show is that it is held three times each year. Every May, July, and September the show runs for six days, from Tuesday to Sunday.

The 2021 show is scheduled for May 11-16, July 13-18, and September 7-12.

Hours

There are no set hours for the Brimfield show, and each dealer will open when they are good and ready. Many open at daybreak and you can expect to find most dealers up and open for business by 6 to 7 am. The same goes with closing, and the generally accepted closing time is dusk, but some operators will start shutting down earlier than this especially on Sunday, which is the last day of the event.

Getting There

Brimfield is located in central Massachusetts just to the south of the Massachusetts Turnpike, which runs east-west from Boston all the way to Springfield and on to the border with New York.

If you are coming from the west you will want to take exit 8 off of the Turnpike (Palmer exit) and take a right onto route 32 south after going through the toll booth. Follow route 32 for about .70 miles until you come to your first traffic light and turn left onto route 20 west. Follow route 20 for about seven miles until you come to the show, you can’t miss it.

If you are coming from the east you will take exit 9 (Sturbridge) off of the Massachusetts Turnpike onto I-84 (Hartford/NY). After you go through the toll booth you will want to look for signs which should direct you to a right hand exit (3B) onto route 20 heading west. Follow route 20 west for about 6.5 miles until you come to the show.

If you are flying into the area you have some options. The closest major airport is Bradley International located in Windsor Locks, Connecticut (47 miles). The greater Boston area is served by Logan International (68 miles) and you can always fly into Providence's TF Green Airport (70 miles) in Rhode Island. Also, JetBlue has recently added service to the Worcester Regional Airport, which is only 28 miles from Brimfield.

Brimfield Is Located in Central Massachusetts

Parking

There is plenty of parking at the show and the cost will range from $3 to $10. We paid $5 and most of the parking lots we saw were charging $5. Expect to find plenty of lots on both sides of route 20 and do not try to park on the main road as it is prohibited and will result in a costly tow by the local police.

Are There Bathrooms and Food Options?

We found plenty of portable facilities available at the show and every field, all 23 of them, are required to provide sanitary facilities.

There were also plenty of places to grab a quick bite to eat or a drink without having to leave the show. The New England Motel is actually situated smack dab in the middle of the show on route 20 and offers a pretty good selection of options in the food court that they set up.

If you're looking for restaurants in the area try one of these options located right in Brimfield and nearby Palmer.

• Francesco's Italian Restaurant, 45 Palmer Rd, Brimfield, MA
• Hooyas Restaurant, 13 Main St, Brimfield, MA
• Apple Barn Cafe, 52 Palmer Rd, Brimfield, MA
• Athens Pizza, 26 Sturbridge Rd, Brimfield, MA
• Brimfield House of Pizza, 17 Main St, Brimfield, MA
• Steaming Tender, 28 Depot St, Palmer, MA

Where To Stay?

If you are coming to the Brimfield Antique Show from out of the area and are looking for accommodations your best bet might be to look in Sturbridge, which is located just six miles to the east of Brimfield.

If you want to stay right in Brimfield there are a couple of motel options available.

• White Coach Motel - Rte. 20, Brimfield (413) 245-9021
• New England Motel - Palmer Rd., Brimfield (413) 245-3348

Books and Magazines Galore

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Not knowing exactly what to expect on our first visit to the Brimfield Antique Show we went with an open mind planning to just browse around to see if we could find anything interesting and any “good deals”. While we certainly saw a lot of interesting stuff we did not come across any must have deals. Even if you are not looking to buy, however, the show makes for an interesting way to spend a summer day.

With so much stuff available here you really need to know your antiques and collectibles to avoid paying too much. The old saying that “one man’s junk is another man’s treasure” certainly applies and personally I found it difficult to know what the fair value should be on most of what I saw. I will say that my overall impression was that “old” things can be pretty darn expensive. But again, I have no way of putting a value on something that might be considered a “collectible.“ And this brings up the question, how does one know what is a “collectible” and what is just "old stuff?”

Lots of Furniture

No matter the answer to any of these questions the Brimfield Antique and Collectibles Show is certainly the largest event of its kind that I have ever seen and some of the statistics from the event are impressive. It makes for a pretty fun and interesting day, especially when you spot something from your heyday. Consider these facts and figures on the show.

• The Brimfield Antiques Show started in 1959.
• The show draws thousands of dealers from all over the world (approximately 20,000 at the May, 2016 show).
• The show has drawn between 125,000 and 500,000 visitors over the course of the week depending on the weather.
• The population of Brimfield is just 3,610 residents.
• Usually the May and September shows draw more visitors than the July show due to the heat of the summer.
• Brimfield is considered to be the world’s largest outdoor antique show.
• There are 23 different fields that make up the exhibit area, which stretches for about a mile along both sides of route 20.

Hope you enjoyed this visit to the Brimfield Antiques and Collectibles show.

© 2014 Bill De Giulio

Comments

Bill De Giulio (author) from Massachusetts on October 18, 2014:

Thanks Suzette. The thing about the Brimfield show is that there are so many vendors that you can find pretty much find anything you are looking for. Sturbridge is just up the road from Brimfield so you were very close. Thanks for stopping by, have a great weekend.

Suzette Walker from Taos, NM on October 18, 2014:

Well, Brimfield caught my eye as we have a Brimfield here in Ohio, but I also love antiques and antiques shows. This one looks very interesting and what a variety and interesting items you show here. I have been to Sturbridge village and I am a bit familiar with that area. If I'm ever in New England and Massachusetts, I would certainly look for this antique show. Thanks for sharing.

Bill De Giulio (author) from Massachusetts on October 10, 2014:

Hi Mary. I think this is something that you would like and as you mentioned it's not that far. We live about 30 minutes from Brimfield and it took us until this summer to finally make it there. I can foresee us returning again next year.

Thanks for the vote, etc.. Have a great weekend.

Mary Craig from New York on October 06, 2014:

Now you tell me ;) Believe it or not I've never heard of this show before but have a feeling I'll be bugging hubby to attend next year. NY isn't that far from MA!

Voted up, useful, awesome, and so very interesting.

Bill De Giulio (author) from Massachusetts on September 18, 2014:

Hi Dianna. Brimfield is a great place to see almost anything you are looking for in one spot. There really are about 6,000 vendors here, which boggles the mind. If you are ever in the area check it out, very impressive. Thanks for stopping by, have a great day.

Dianna Mendez on September 18, 2014:

I used to love browsing antique stores when I lived up north. Our small town had over ten small business owners and it was fun to shop each store. I would love to browse the venue as well.

Bill De Giulio (author) from Massachusetts on September 15, 2014:

Thank you ElleBee. Great input. Now that I finally made it to the Brimfield Show we'll have to make it an annual thing. Look forward to trying some of your restaurant suggestions. Have a great week.

ElleBee on September 14, 2014:

You definitely did the Fair justice. It is making me wonder why I didn't make it their this year! It is barely 15 minutes from my house, so I really have no excuse! Also, I give a big vote to Francesca's their food is great!! And if there are any train buffs in attendance a visit to the Steaming Tender in Palmer is also worth a visit - full service restaurant inside the restored former railroad station which was designed by HH Richardson.

Bill De Giulio (author) from Massachusetts on September 14, 2014:

Hi ElleBee. Thank you for the tip. I will add the Worcester Airport as an option. Thanks for stopping by, have a great week.

ElleBee on September 14, 2014:

Great review of a great place. With Jet Blue now offering service to Worcester that's an option for those who are flying as well.

Bill De Giulio (author) from Massachusetts on September 14, 2014:

Hi Suzie, nice to see you. I mostly roam around looking for things that were around when I was younger. There were some pretty interesting things here. We actually saw the back end of a school bus? Not sure what one would do with it but it was there for the taking. There was a lot of old Coca Cola stuff, which seems to be popular. Hope all is well.

Suzanne Ridgeway from Dublin, Ireland on September 14, 2014:

Hi Bill,

What a wonderful place this sounds and we would love spending a day (at least) roaming the 23 fields! I am not in the know either on antiques but love looking and spying bargains. Mick loves restoring things so that coke container looks fun. Thanks my friend for a 5 star +++++ tour here! Hope all is going well with you.

Bill De Giulio (author) from Massachusetts on September 14, 2014:

Hi Linda. Thanks for stopping by. It really is huge and almost impossible to see in just one day. I have never seen anything quite like it. We did have a great time browsing around and definitely saw some interesting things. Thanks again, have a great day.

Linda Crampton from British Columbia, Canada on September 13, 2014:

What a huge antique show! I've never heard of one that covers such a large area. It sounds like it would be very interesting and great fun to visit the show. Thanks for sharing the information and the photos, Bill.

Bill De Giulio (author) from Massachusetts on September 13, 2014:

Hi Karen. Thank you. Anyone who has lived in this part of the country certainly knows about the Brimfield Antique Show. It's quite an event. I'm glad you had the opportunity to experience it. Enjoy the rest of your weekend.

Karen Hellier from Georgia on September 13, 2014:

Until recently, I lived in Connecticut and my parents are from the Sturbridge, MA area so I have been to the Brimfield Antiques show a few times. Love it. You did a great job describing this show.

Bill De Giulio (author) from Massachusetts on September 13, 2014:

Hi Flourish. That's unfortunate that they don't have these types of events in your area. They are very popular up here and the Brimfield Show is just huge. It makes for a great day just browsing around looking for the things from our past. Thanks for stopping by, have a wonderful weekend.

FlourishAnyway from USA on September 13, 2014:

This is my kind of event. Where I now live we don't have these, but I used to enjoy them very much when I lived up north. It looks like terrific fun. The thing I love most about antiquing is that you never know what you'll find and it brings up so many old memories of grandparents, growing up, etc.

Bill De Giulio (author) from Massachusetts on September 12, 2014:

Hi Bill. I thought this show might appeal to you. It really is endless, unlike anything I have ever seen. Thanks for stopping by, and a great weekend to you.

Bill Holland from Olympia, WA on September 12, 2014:

Oh what fun that would be, Bill. I could easily spend a couple days roaming the aisles of that show. Thanks for taking me along my friend, and have a superb weekend.