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Tuolumne Memorial Hall Is Site For April Antique Fair
Antique Fair
Coming up on April 16 and 17, the Tuolumne Memorial Hall will be open and filled with unique items as part of the spring Antique Fair. The focus is on vintage and antique wares, or artisan-crafted items made of true vintage bits. Photo Contributed

On the schedule for April, the Tuolumne Memorial Hall Antique Fair welcomes shoppers from throughout the region. It will be hosted inside the Memorial Hall in Tuolumne and has been rescheduled for Saturday and Sunday, April 16 and 17 from a previous date in early March, allowing for the indoor staging of the event.

Additional changes for this year’s event include closing later on Saturday, with the doors remaining open until 6 p.m.; organizers said the later shopping time on Saturday may become a permanent change.

Also, on Easter Sunday, April 17, there will an ‘Easter egg hunt’ at the Antique Fair. Vendors have Easter egg stickers to put on merchandise to mark items on sale. Each vendor determines the items and percentage of sale for their products. This Easter egg sale will be all day Sunday, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

The Memorial Hall Antique Fair is produced by two sisters: Kristen Kestly and Jennifer Agnes under the business name, Vintage Chix. They put together two shows a year: the spring show and one in mid-October. The two-day Antique Fair is held at the Veteran’s Memorial Hall located in the center of the little town of Tuolumne approximately eight miles east of Sonora. The fall Antique Fair held outside in the park is much larger event, more vendors, more variety.

“This is our thirteenth year. We strive to make each Antique Fair better than the last one,” said Kestly.

The Antique Fair opens at 8 a.m. Saturday and 10 a.m. Sunday. The first hour on Saturday morning is a preview, buyers pay a small entrance fee ($5) for the privilege of shopping early.

The Veteran’s Memorial Hall is a large depression-era building surrounded by a shaded park and lots of parking.

“Part of the success of this Antique Fair is the quality of merchandise offered by our vendors,” Kestly added. “We have many customers who have happily returned each year to this event. The focus is on antique and vintage for our Antique Fair: we are only approving vendors who have truly vintage and antique wares, or artisan-crafted items made of true vintage bits. It can be fun, funky old stuff, shabby chic, primitives, rustic, or finer antiques.”