Ellsworth Antiques Show back Long-running summer event returning to city after 8 years

ELLSWORTH – The city has the distinction of hosting the longest-running summer antiques show in the nation, yet for the last eight years, it hasn’t even been held within city limits.

Confused? Don’t worry, it will all be put to rest in August, when the nationally recognized Ellsworth Antiques Show returns to the city where it was founded in 1938.

“This really belongs in Ellsworth; it’s the perfect crossroads,” said Bill Schwind of Yarmouth, the show’s chairman for the last 30 years. “We’re very happy to come back.”

For nearly 60 years, the show was held at Ellsworth City Hall and brought together the community every August.

In 1997, renovations to the building forced the exhibitors to relocate to George Stevens Academy in Blue Hill, where the number of visitors steadily dwindled.

“The show didn’t quite fly at George Stevens,” Schwind said. “The trustees never got into it and we weren’t as visible.”

For years, the trustees were looking for a new location and a chance to return to Ellsworth. This year, they found it.

The Woodlawn Museum on Route 172, also known as The Black House, has agreed to host the event, a partnership the museum’s executive director said will be mutually beneficial.

“The dealers really wanted to relocate back to Ellsworth and they approached us,” Joshua Torrance explained Tuesday. “It was an easy decision for us; I think it will be a perfect marriage.”

The four-day show will be held Aug. 2-5 and its organizers anticipate about 400-500 people per day.

The show itself is owned and operated by the association of vendors, who profit from their sales, but all the proceeds from the ticket sales will benefit the museum. Schwind said the decision to donate ticket profits was a nice agreement between the antique dealers and the museum.

“The Woodlawn is a hidden treasure and [Torrance] has really help put it on the map,” he said.

Vendors, 26 in all and nine from Maine, will set up shop under an 11,000-square-foot tent to be set up on the front lawn of the museum.

Schwind, who runs an antiques shop in Yarmouth and specializes in early American furniture and accessories, said the show is characterized by really outstanding antiques.

This year, the show’s crown jewel will be Donald Cresswell of the Philadelphia Print Shop and a frequent guest on the popular public television program “Antiques Roadshow.”

The Union River Lobster Pot, a seasonal local restaurant, will cater the event with light lunch fare and a wine bar. “We’re happy to support the event,” said restaurant owner Brian Langley. “We might make a little money, but it’s not really about that. The [museum] is a great asset.”

For more information about the event or about the museum, visit the Web site at www.woodlawnmuseum.org.