What I Discovered Inside the High-End Antique Booths at a New York Fall Fair

I’ve had the Taconic Antiques Fair in Chatham, New York, on my calendar since I first learned about it last year, and this fall I finally made the trip. Just an hour and a half from our Vermont home, it seemed like the perfect excuse for another Antiquing in New England adventure, even if this one took me just across the border into New York.

I expected something a little different and perhaps a little more high-end, but I wasn’t quite prepared for the wonderfully eclectic mix of serious antiques, folk art, primitives, textiles, and unexpected pieces waiting inside. Come take a walk through the high-end antique booths with me, see what I discovered, and decide whether the Taconic Antiques Fair belongs on your antiquing calendar next fall.

What to Know About the Taconic Antiques Fair

The Taconic Antiques Fair is held each fall at the Columbia County Fairgrounds in Chatham, New York. With more than 100 dealers spread throughout the fairgrounds, it’s a substantial antiques fair that still feels surprisingly manageable to explore. Here’s what I found helpful to know before visiting.

Things to Know Before You Go

• Location: Columbia County Fairgrounds, Chatham, New York. Get Directions
• When: Held once a year in the fall
• Dates: Check the official Taconic Antiques Fair website.
• Hours: Saturday, 9 AM–5 PM; Sunday, 10 AM–4 PM
• Admission: $10; admission is valid for both days; Free for visitors under 18
• Parking: Free and easy, with a short walk to the fair
• Dealers: More than 100 antique and vintage dealers
• Layout: Seven fairground buildings plus additional outdoor displays
• Food: Food trucks and refreshments available on-site
• Restrooms: Conveniently located at the fairgrounds
• Weather: Rain or shine
• Pets: No pets allowed per fairgrounds rules
• Accessibility: I found the fair compact and easy to navigate without long walks between buildings
• Good to Know: Check the Taconic Antiques Fair website for current dates, hours, admission, and event details before visiting.

Now for the reason I came—the antiques. Let me show you around some of the high-end booths and collections that made this fair so different from the markets I usually visit.

High-End Antique Booths, Folk Art, and the Unexpected

Taconic felt different from the very first booth; more artistic, unusual, and eclectic than the markets I typically frequent around New England. Primitive furniture mingled with folk art, old advertising, paintings, textiles, curiosities, and pieces I couldn’t quite identify. Rather than sort everything into categories, I’m sharing the fair much the way I experienced it—one fascinating booth after another.

The first thing to grab me was this enormous orange-and-green New Idea advertising banner. Bold, graphic, and a little quirky, I immediately loved it and briefly wondered where on earth I could possibly hang something this large. I wisely decided I couldn’t, but remember this booth, because I came back at the end of the day and found the one antique I did bring home.

And apparently oversized antique banners were going to be a theme, because just a few steps later I found this fabulous old Circus of Wonders banner advertising the “World’s Strangest People” and “Human Oddities.” Between the scale, the lettering, and all that faded yellow, red, and blue, it felt more like a piece of folk art than old advertising. Two booths in, and Taconic was already proving to be wonderfully unexpected.

Just across the aisle, another booth mixed bold color with simple primitives: a huge HI-TEST sign, weathered red cupboard, old pottery, chippy stools, and even a lone paintbrush hanging on the wall. The pricing gave me an early sense of Taconic, too: the red cupboard was around $2,300, while the little red, white, and blue chippy stool I loved was $95.

Antique Art, Textiles, and Collectible Finds

And the artwork—there was so much of it. Beautiful antique paintings, original art, and custom-framed pieces filled the booths, from traditional landscapes and portraits to more unusual works. If you collect antique art or are looking for one standout piece for your walls, Taconic was a fabulous place to browse.

I loved seeing antiques treated as artwork throughout the fair. One booth paired a striking red-and-white antique quilt with a wonderfully worn green primitive cupboard, while another turned an entire collection of old rug beaters into a wall display. Pieces once made purely to be useful suddenly looked like works of art, and both displays stopped me for a closer look.

Vintage clothing and accessories added another layer to the eclectic mix at Taconic. I loved this old sailor top, priced at $75, and immediately imagined it framed as wall art, much like the antique bathing suit I have hanging at our Maine home. Nearby, old shoes filled a vintage cobbler rack, while varsity knits, maps, wooden hangers, and that fabulous blue globe were layered together in another display. There were so many unusual pieces here that made you look twice and imagine using them in an entirely different way.

And then there were finds like these—a colorful bundle of vintage wooden shoe trees that almost came home with me. I loved the faded pinks, blues, greens, and worn wood, but even more, I loved how something so ordinary had become almost sculptural when gathered together. They were another perfect example of the quirky, creative antiques that made some of the Taconic booths so much fun to explore.

Another little pile that had me thinking creatively—old marbled book covers and binding papers in the most beautiful colors and patterns. I could easily imagine repurposing these into journal or guest-book covers, small albums, or even framed paper art. Taconic was full of pieces that made you think beyond their original purpose.

The Quirky Antiques I Didn’t Expect to Find

And talk about unusual—this 1990s M&M’s character toy mold, priced at $375, was one of the coolest curiosities I spotted all day. I never would have known what it was without asking, which was half the fun. Taconic was filled with pieces like this—industrial, unusual, and with stories you’d never guess just by looking at them.

Then there were the larger pieces that were impossible to miss—a wonderfully quirky dodo bird, an old Maine dollhouse with just enough wear to look slightly haunted, and this fabulous carousel horse perched high above a vintage card catalog. These were the kinds of unexpected antiques that made wandering through Taconic so much fun.

And honestly, I could keep going. Every turn seemed to bring another antique, collection, or display I hadn’t expected to find. Rather than talk you through every one, I’ll leave you with a few more of my favorites from the day—because sometimes the best part of an antiques fair is simply looking.

Looking for more antique booth ideas? You may also enjoy some of these reader favorites:

The One Antique That Came Home With Me

Remember that very first booth with the enormous orange New Idea banner? Before leaving the fair, I circled back, and this time something did come home with me. I found this beautiful antique Iranian textile in the loveliest mix of faded browns and blues for $65, and the colors immediately felt right for our Vermont home.

I’m already picturing it on our fall porch paired with my new vintage copper mugs, where those warm copper tones should be beautiful against the blues and browns. And when porch season ends, I can easily bring it indoors and use it as a table runner. One beautiful, versatile find from a fair filled with things I’ll probably still be thinking about for a while.

An Antiquing Overnight at The Inn at Silver Maple Farm

After a couple of hours wandering the Taconic Antiques Fair, I headed into Chatham for a bowl of French onion soup at Yianni’s Chatham House, edited a few of the day’s photos, and then made my way to The Inn at Silver Maple Farm in East Chatham. The beautifully restored farmhouse was just what I wanted for the night—warm wood floors, a lovely suite, and a quiet place to settle in after a full afternoon of antiquing. The next morning brought a hot breakfast of cheddar eggs, bacon, greens, fresh berries, and homemade toast before I sat down with my coffee to start sharing this little adventure with you.

And that’s really why I keep taking these antiquing trips. Sometimes a market is more high-end than I expected, sometimes it’s wonderfully scrappy, and sometimes I have no idea what I’m walking into, but there is always something to discover. This time it was an antique Iranian textile I can’t wait to style back home in Vermont. So yes, my Antiquing in New England series blurred the state lines a little this time, but Chatham was far too close—and far too interesting—to leave out. I hope you’ll keep following along to see where I go antiquing next.

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