Design & Antiques Show celebrates 31st year

WASHINGTON — The 2017 Washington Connecticut Design & Antiques Show will take place Columbus Day weekend, October 6 to 8. It will open Oct. 6 with a cocktail party from 6:30-9 p.m.

This is an opportunity for advance buying and browsing of a variety of antique and contemporary collections. Visitors can see and be seen amid curated antiques and modern classics – a fitting start to a long fall weekend in Litchfield County.

The following evening, from 5 to 7:30 p.m. Oct. 7, a Tapas Fiesta will be held. It will be a casual and fun gathering with friends, tapas, cocktails and hip Latin music. On view wil be an eclectic mix of modern designs and classic antiques as well as fine estate and vintage jewelry.

The Design & Antiques Show is one of the primary annual fundraisers for the Gunn Memorial Library, which depends on private contributions in addition to taxpayer dollars. The show is in its 31st year.

“We are pleased to welcome Cornelia Guest as our honorary chair for this popular fall social event,” Jean Chapin, the library’s executive director, said. “And as a thank you to the community for their ongoing support, we will once again extend free daily admission.”

This year’s show features 18 dealers from the East Coast. Visitors will find unique furniture from antiques to mid-century modern, with works of art, exquisite jewelry, and decorative accessories for all tastes.

“People are interested in incorporating contemporary design with antiques and traditional design,” Wilson Henley, an antiques dealer and Gunn Memorial trustee, said.

Dealers participating in this year’s show were selected with this in mind.

“We loosened up the idea of ‘antiques show’ and made it more attractive and enticing for younger buyers,” Henley said.

This year’s dealers include Brad Reh Fine Jewelry of New Canaan; Carole Pinto Fine Arts of Paris, France, and New York, NY; Debbie Turi Antiques of Roseland, N.J.; Donald Rich Antiques & Interiors of New Canaan; Earle D. Vandekar of Knightsbridge Inc. of White Plains, N.Y.; Eckert Fine Art of Kent; Fair Trade Antiques of Shelburne Falls, Mass.; Framont of Greenwich; Frank Oppel & The Old Print Shop of Stamford and New York City; G. Sergeant Antiques of Woodbury; KMR Arts of Washington Depot; Knollwood Antiques of Thorndike, Mass; Margaret Doyle Antiques of Mendham, N.J.; Melody Rodgers of New York City; Nemati Collection of New York City and New Preston; Period To Mod Brennan & Mouilleseaux of Northfield; R M Barokh Inc. of Bantam, and Roberto Freitas American Antiques & Decorative Arts of Stonington.

The Design & Antiques Show will be held at Washington Primary School, 11 School Street in Washington Depot.

Reservations for the Friday and Saturday evening parties are highly recommended and can be made by visiting gunnlibrary.org.

Entrance to each party begins at $125 per person. Daytime show hours are Saturday, October 7, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday, October 8, 10 a.m. to p.m.

Daily show admission is free. For additional information, contact the Gunn Memorial Library at 860-868-7586 or email gunndevelopment@biblio.org.