COLLECTIBLES : Antiques Draw New to the Old

If you’ve been holding off on buying collectible items, now’s your chance. The largest concentration of antique stores in the county is holding its biggest sales event of the year.

Old Town Orange will host its 17th annual February Antiques Faire on Presidents’ Day weekend. Most of the stores and mall dealers will be offering discounts of 10% to 50% on merchandise.

There are 40 stores and malls--about 300 antiques and collectibles dealers in all--on Glassell Street and Chapman Avenue near the Orange Circle, according to Dave Conley, president of the Old Orange Antiques Dealers Assn. All the shops will have items on sale.

An estimated 25,000 people are expected to attend the three-day event, said Beverly Bruce, owner of the Plaza 42 Antiques mall and treasurer of the antiques dealers’ association.

“It just gets bigger and bigger, because the same people come back year after year, and then we get new people,” Bruce said.

She said what attracts so many people are the bargains.

“A lot of my dealers (in the Plaza 42 Antiques mall) and others in the area only discount through this antique fair,” Bruce said. “One woman who sells quality china . . . this is the only time of the year she offers it on sale.”

The event is held in February, Bruce said, because it’s a “down time (for merchants). Also, it’s a good time to clear out and get new merchandise.”

Conley said he has received calls from as far as Ohio from people wanting information about the event.

“A lot of people know about it and plan around it,” he said.

He had some words of advice for people planning to attend: Come prepared to buy.

“There’s what I call buyer’s remorse,” he said. “If you don’t pick it up that day, there’s no guarantee it’ll be there next week. It isn’t like we can look in a catalogue and order them another one. These are one-of-a-kind items.”

There will be refreshments for sale, including popcorn, drinks, hot dogs and baked goods.

And, weather permitting, antique cars will be on display.

“We’ve got some local car clubs that have come in years past, and we expect them to again if it is not raining,” Conley said.

He said that if nothing else, Old Orange is a nice place to come stroll and check things out.

“This area is really quaint, with a lot of atmosphere,” Conley said.

* The February Antiques Faire will be held Saturday, Feb. 13, through Monday, Feb. 15, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. at Old Town Orange, along Chapman Avenue and Glassell Street. Admission is free. For information, call Dave Conley at (714) 744-4845.