Maybe you are a serious antique collector. Perhaps you’re simply interested in finding an inexpensive way to furnish a new home. Or maybe you’re looking for a cowboy costume for your young son, who is enamored with John Wayne.
At the D.C. Big Flea Market in Chantilly, Va., nearly anyone can find something of interest.
The market, which is at the Dulles Exposition Center five times every year, will host more than 1,100 booths selling antiques and collectibles Saturday and Sunday. Two cavernous buildings will be filled wall-to-wall with vendors selling everything from antique dining room furniture to 1950s vintage glasses.
“The truth is, for the collector and even the advanced collector, there are soup to nuts antiques and collectibles here. It’s incredible,” says antique silver dealer Paul Severino.
Severino runs a silver shop in Savage, Md., but always makes sure to come to the market. “It’s very well-attended, which is important from a dealer’s standpoint,” Severino says. “The advertising is well-done, and there are typically about 20,000 people that come over the weekend.”
George Garrett and his wife, Arlene, have an antique business in Northern Virginia. He likes selling at the Market because there is “such a big draw from the Northern Virginia and Washington areas. This area has an upscale economy that helps,” he says.
“The response is very good here. You don’t have a lack for people,” Garrett says.
Joan Sides is the owner of D’Amore Promotions, which runs the market. She believes the reason for the show’s success is its “diversity of merchandise. You can come here with $20 in your pocket or you can come here with $20,000 in your pocket,” Sides says.
Severino says the event is too serious to actually be a flea market, despite its name.
“When you see well-known decorators and high-end antique dealers shopping this show, you know it’s not just a flea market,” he says.
