Antique show draws a big crowd

Antique collections spilled across the grass at Creekside Park, enticing treasure hunters for the fifth annual Antiques in the Park event last weekend.

About 34 vendors filled their booths with staples of antique collecting: Artwork, jewelry and furniture, and rare finds such as an 1840 Victorian wicker potty chair and an antique corn-grinder. There was a mix of everything for everyone, including a 19th-century wagon and surrey from the Pickers & Peddlers Market in Tumalo.

Caroline Dietrich, a new vendor from Bend, showcased a menagerie of Asian antiques.

"Actually I have a soap company in Bend. But my mother passed away and left all these exquisite vintage art pieces. Some made of porcelain and Chinese cinnabar from Asia, including huge Ming vases. She had an import/export store in the 1960s. We lived in Japan for two years when I was growing up," Dietrich said. "This is a fraction of the collection."

The soothing yet distinctive sound of the marimba drew a crowd of spectators to the stage area of the park all Saturday morning.

From Central Washington's Tri-Cities, The Steel & Marimba Community Band consisting of several high schools and middle schools performed until noon creating their musical magic on the resonant mallet percussion instrument.

Robin Pendaruis and her husband from Sunriver were relaxing with a plate of Bad Boys Barbecue at one of the picnic tables listening to unusual music.

"We come here every year and have never heard anything like this before," said Robin Pendaruis. "We think its top-notch, those kids are very talented."

Some visitors came to browse the many booths and others came knowing the exact trinkets they were looking for.

Susan Lipton from Salem searched through a variety of vintage European fabrics for just the right color scheme with the help of textile dealer Margaret Meier from Oak Park, Florida. Meier goes to Europe twice a year to buy only the best home-grown fabrics to sell at shows all over the nation.

"They're all spun and woven on farms in Europe, which means no chemicals or machine processes. I have been collecting home-spun linens for years and have five warehouses full in Florida. I lived in Europe in the late '60s and then again in the early '80s," Meier told The Nugget. "The grain bags are organic home-spun linens. I started bringing in home-spun linen into the country 18 years ago. I'm actually from the Portland area, and I enjoy it here in Sisters."

Vendor Cory and his wife, Rachel Sturdevant, own a junk shop in Roseburg called "Fridays," well, because it's the only day they're open. But his collection of "junk" from antique photo frames to a vintage corn-grinder was hardly rubbish.

"I pulled out all the antique collectibles out of the junk for the show," Sturdevant said with a grin.

The American Legion, VFW, and Band of Brothers had their own booth, selling military magnets to support the veterans in the Sisters community.