Travelled up to Clinton today.
Went to the Apple and Pork Festival.
My first time (although the better half had been there 3 or 4 times previously).
We only visited 1 of the 3 main areas in town, but it was just packed with an afternoon-full of great vendors !!
Quite a few crafty things -- crocheting, woodcrafts, glass art. But, the really interesting spot was the huge area full of antique and flea market stuff.
It's always so fun to go to these outdoor events and look thru the vendors' tables and tents, chat with them and try to work them down on prices.... just a little at least. (NEVER PAY RETAIL! -BG)
Looking thru this stuff is so much fun. I never know what cool little treasures are gonna surface. I'm not a big spender, so what I look for is the "smalls" (as Frank from 'American Pickers' calls them).
Here's a selection of some of what I found today:
- more than 80 keychains, at an average of less than 35 cents each
- a 1981 Illinois "Antique Vehicle" license plate
- a neat decorative / commemorative plate featuring the calendar of my birthyear
- cool old McDonalds Happy Meal toys that are little transformers shaped like McDonalds food items
- a glass from Kaufman Grain Elevator
- 50 cent Hot Wheels
- COOLEST PURCHASE: "Impact '67", a newspaper supplement from 1967 featuring the centennial of the University of Illinois
Take a look at a trio of neat advertisements from this "Impact '67" publication (almost 50 years ago!!).....
SO COOL !!
We happened to be at the right place at the right time when a vendor who had a bunch of "$1 buys anything" stuff laid out on a tarp switched to "fill a bag for a buck". It was a blast diggin' thru piles (some junk, some neat) to see what I could find. It was like a big 'ol "find a needle in a haystack scavenger hunt" out there in the Sunday sunshine.
Fun way to spend the afternoon with the fam!
Out for now.....
Matt