Antique Festival revels in history, entertainment, shopping
Presenter Melissa Patrick talks about the Millersburg Opera House as part of the Antique Festival’s historical presentations.
While the Holmes County Antique Festival that took place Oct. 4-6 in Historic Downtown Millersburg was once again an entertainment bonanza during what turned out to be a picture-perfect weather weekend, it proved to be more than simply entertainment.
The event drew thousands of visitors to the village, in turn adding a great deal to the store traffic in town.
The fervor in both attendance and shopping in HDM over the weekend made an impact in creating a financial windfall for local businesses.
Greg Oswald, owner of Millersburg Glass Collection, said both the foot traffic and sales were up enormously during the weekend.
“I think we saw about a 5,000% increase in people coming through the door,” Oswald said. “As far as sales, we probably saw about a 200% uptick over a normal weekend. It’s been a very huge positive for all of us. Obviously, the important thing is simply creating visitors and getting them into shops, and once they did, they saw things that grabbed their attention.”
As for the entertainment, Keri Rodhe and a host of other festival volunteers worked hard to create plenty of new activities to add to the time-honored favorites, and it gave visitors plenty of things to experience.
Up in the American Hall building’s third floor, more than a dozen tables were littered with collections ranging from glassware to fishing lures, dolls and more being presented by local people.
It also served as the spot to be on Friday night when a game of trivia took place.
In addition, there were a number of historical presentations taking place there throughout the weekend.
Included among the presentations were Mark Boley presenting Unusual and Mysterious and Holmes County: The Rest of the Story, Susan Schie presenting Holmes County Courthouse, Joe Edinger taking visitors on a trip exploring Millersburg Glass, Melissa Patrick presenting Opera House and Town of Millersburg, Guy Stallman offering a talk on Holmesville and Prairie Township, and David Weiss rounding out the lineup with 1750-1825: Holmes County.
Sunday saw Bob Porter present Native Americans of Ohio while Barb Lang offered up Oldest Family Farms.
In addition, the new Holmes County bicentennial video played while presenters weren’t offering their expertise on their respective topics.
“I thought it all went really well,” Patrick said. “There was genuine interest, and everyone attending was really focused in. I think it’s something that could really grow next year.”
The courthouse was surrounded by activity including plenty of arts and demonstrations, and the antique market and arts and crafts market allowed people to casually shop outside during a perfect weather weekend.
While live music kept people entertained throughout the weekend, both the Antique Car/Fireman’s Festival and the grand parade drew plenty of visitors to Jackson Street.
In addition, the new Farm Bureau Passport Thru Holmes County Port Washington Trail excursion saw drivers touring much of Holmes County along Port Washington Trail, where they could drive the tour, see eight business stops and turn in their passport at a chance to win a $250 gift card.
“I think it’s gone really well,” Georgie Cool said of the participation in the inaugural effort by the Farm Bureau.
The Darb Snyder Memorial Antique & Classic Car Show, a touch-a-truck event, and plenty of inviting flavors and aromas of the food vendors created a marvelous weekend of activity during this year’s Holmes County Antique Festival, adding one more memorable year to the longstanding tradition.