MERRY CHRISTMAS

The Olde Barn Centre staff and dealers wish you and your families the warmest of Christmas holidays and a Happy New Year.

Most Wonderful Time of the Year

While temperatures here in Central Pennsylvania aren't quit cold enough for snow, it is time in our area for residents to reflect on what the next few months will bring.  Will we get alot of snow or will it be a mild winter?  Only time will tell.

Antiques evolve with time just like people.  They mature and grow in exposure to situations in our daily lives.  A simple piece of furniture from your grandparent's childhood could find itself in your home as a treasured piece of the past.  Pick up any home magazine these days and you will find all of them feature layouts praising the combination of vintage antiques with today's traditional furnishings.

Furnishings might not be what you have in mind with the upcoming holiday season.  My Christmas gift list has more toys on it than 'useful' gifts.  But we do have quite a selection of housewares, decorations, furnishings and entertainment pieces if that's what you're shopping for.

Shop in comfort and visit us at the Olde Barn Centre.  We're open 10 am to 5 pm, seven days a week with the coffee always on.  We will be closed Thursday, November 24th for our employees to observe the Thanksgiving holiday with their family and friends.  Hope to see you soon.

New Beginnings

Antiques aren't usually considered or associated with new or the beginning of anything.  When someone hears the word antique visuals that come to mind are something old, rusty, worn and definitely used.  But as in life, sometimes we have to start fresh.  Stepping into an antique shop can be a wonderful way to furnish a new house,  enhance an addition or just mix things up a bit in a room to make it more enjoyable.

As we enter the fall season and move into the winter months, many holidays and family gatherings will be shared and enjoyed.  Do you desire a new set of mixing bowls?  A table to seat all your family and dearest friends?  Or some whimsical decorations to brighten your decor?  At the Olde Barn Centre, we have gifts and goodies to satisfy even the most discriminating tastes when it comes to collecting and decorating.

Whether your preparing your first Thanksgiving dinner and need that gigantic turkey platter or looking to furnish the corner of relaxation in your home in preparation for those cold winter nights, come browse the Olde Barn Centre and see if you don't find something "new" to you.  Happy Halloween from the Olde Barn Centre.

Happenings in the Area

I'd like to add some events going on in the area if you are traveling in the region.

August 13 & 14  41st Annual Arts and Crafts Festival, Eagles Mere, PA  fine artists and craftsman display their work on the village green  9-5  $5 admission  for more info:  http://www.visithistoriceaglesmere.com/

August 18-20  Sunbury River Festival  info: http://www.sunburyriverfestival.com/

August 26-28  Middlecreek Valley Antique Association's 15th Annual Fall Antique Show  info: http://mvaapa.org/

August 27th   40th Annual New Berlin Day  info:  http://www.newberlinpa.com/

September 3  29th Labor Day Market, Eagles Mere, PA  antique vendors display their merchandise on the village green.  9-5 $5 admission

September 8-11  Nittany Antique Machinery Show and Penn's Cave Festival  info:  http://www.nittanyantique.org/

September 16-18  Pennsylvania Bowhunters Festival, Sullivan County Fairgrounds, Forksville, PA  info: http://pabowhunters.com/

October 8 & 9  31st Sullivan County Fall Festival, Sullivan County Fairgrounds, Forksville, PA

Heat, Rain, More Heat and More Rain

Antiques are like summer weather, sort of.  Sometimes it's hot and humid.  It can also be cool and mild.  Antiques and collectibles range in value from high to low and back to high depending on the active interest in them.  Certain items like traditional furniture and signed pottery usually retain their value through the years but depression glassware, kitchenware and holiday collectibles seem to float in and out of favor depending on what's on the cover of the current decorator magazines.

At the Olde Barn Centre we offer a broad range of antiques and collectibles.  Items that range from the 1800's right into collectibles from yesterday.  We've got it covered whether it's in House Beautiful, Martha Stewart or Antiques Journal.

August 13th, Saturday, you can find Eagles Mere abuzz with the annual Craft Festival.
August 26th & 27th, Friday 5:30 pm-9 pm, Saturday 9 am-4 pm, 37th annual Antiques Show at Geringer Hall, Muncy

Lazy Days of Summer

First Sunday Celebration Pictures

Happy Memorial Day

Let me start by saying on behalf of everyone here at the Olde Barn Centre, we thank all those men and women who serve our country, at home and abroad.  We are truly home of the free because of the brave.  THANK YOU.

Final preparations are being made for our June First Sunday Market and hope you will stop by.  Just a reminder we open at 8 a.m. for this event only but the shop will remain open until 5 p.m.  I shouldn't have requested the heat in my last post because someone sure turned up the thermostat.  We went straight from 40 and rainy to 80, muggy and more rain.  Weather is something everyone has an opinion on.  It's too much for some and not enough for others.  From handmade quilts and comforters to Adirondack rocking chairs for star gazing....whether you like it cold or hot, inside or out we have some amazing finds for you.

Please enjoy your holiday weekend with family and friends from everyone at the Olde Barn Centre.

Things Are Heating Up

Or so they should be considering we're in the month of May.  April certainly provided us with the showers and flowers are blooming all over Central Pennsylvania, that's for sure.  But Mother Nature hasn't seen fit to provide us with more than a few sunny hours on any given day.

All sorts of summer antiques are finding their way into the booths at the Olde Barn Centre.  We have some great summer furniture, wagons, wheelbarrows and garden tools.  Pick up a floral tablecloth, some pretty ice tea glasses and invite friends over to sit on the porch to visit.  We have a new batch of Amish rockers on the porch that just arrived two weeks ago.  These rockers are new (not antiques) but are a great addition to any home for either inside or out.  They get rave reviews and are only available certain times of the year.

I'd like to announce our First Sunday Markets are scheduled for 2011.  The first First Sunday will be June 5th, 2011 and then again on August 7, 2011.  We invite outside dealers to set up their wares and open at 8 am to the public.  The outside market is open from 8 am to 12 noon but the Olde Barn Centre will be open until 5 pm, our regular closing time.  We're hoping for a good turn out and great weather.  Stop by if you can.

Happy Easter

I had the pleasure of being able to travel to Washington DC for the Cherry Blossom Festival recently and it truly was a magical place.  History is all around us and it's nice to know you don't have to travel too far to experience it.  We all have personal possessions in our lives that may conjure up memories of a more personal nature.  Our lives are filled with stories and events that are as significant to us as the monuments in Washington DC.  

At the Olde Barn Centre, we are brimming with treasures for your home.  Some old enough to have their own personal history like the Allegheny House bar featured in the last post.  Some new just waiting for you to take them home so you can make them part of your family history.  Stop by and take a walk down memory lane and go home with some future memories of your own.

I'm happy to report we will be having our 1st Sunday Markets again this year.  Sunday, June 5th will be the first and hopefully we won't have the issues with the weather we did last year.  I know we had reports of hail in Montoursville that morning but not a drop of moisture to be seen at the Barn.  Weather in the "Valley of the Susquehanna" needs it's own meteorologist, trust me.  Anyway, our 1st Sunday Market, June 5th, 2011 will run from 8 a.m. until 12 noon and currently we have 10 vendors returning from last years' markets.  These vendors will have their displays set up in the parking lot outside the Barn and their items range from old tools, furniture, glassware, linens, etc. to and including plants, herbs, baskets and other craft items.  Spaces are available just contact us at 570-546-7493.

The Olde Barn Centre is open daily from 10 a.m. until 5 p.m.; however on Sunday, June 5th we will open the building at 8 a.m. to coincide with the Market.  Join us if you can.  As a final note, we will be closed Easter Sunday to celebrate with our families and friends.  Easter is one of the 4 scheduled closings of the Olde Barn Centre.

Happy St. Patrick's Day

The weather here has really been a roller coaster ride.  One day snow, next day sun, two days of constant rain and we're back to cold again.  Weather truly does dictate what we are able to accomplish in our busy lives.  Our dealers have been busy spring cleaning and bringing in 'summer-y' collectibles and furniture.  One of the new additions to the second floor is a magnificent piece of restoration which I have included a picture of.   This piece comes to us from a local landmark bar and restaurant that has been closed for quite a few years.  Maybe you recognize it.  It is truly a must see.

The Bloomsburg Antique Show did reschedule due to the flooding at the Bloomsburg Fairgrounds.  So if you thought you missed it, you didn't.  It's now scheduled for Saturday and Sunday, March 26th and 27th.  We have some complimentary discount admission cards at our front desk if you would like to stop by and pick them up.  Happy St. Patrick's Day.

March already

Where did February go?  In my defense it is a short month and we have been extremely busy at the Olde Barn Centre.  Even with the snow and bad weather, traffic through our little neck of the woods has remained high.  I'd like to boast that our antique dealers are the best of the best and go to great lengths to provide our guests with the best merchandise, cleanest and friendliest atmosphere.  We enjoy the business we're in and I'm certain it shows.

Local happenings this weekend include the 23rd Annual Antique Show at the General John Burrows Historial Society, Saturday, March 5th from 10-4.  The Historical Society is located at 19 N. Loyalsock Avenue, Montoursville, PA.  Also is the Gun and Outdoor Show in the Pennsdale Civic Center, Village Road, Pennsdale, open Saturday, 9-5 and Sunday, 9-4.  If you do travel to the area for either of these events, please stop by for a visit. 

SNOW, SNOW, SNOW

This is the time of year when things tend to slow down in Central Pennsylvania because everyone is waiting for the next big snowfall.  Being a business located in the "Valleys of the Susquehanna", it can sometimes snow or rain in the town next to us but we don't get a drop.  Likewise at the barn we could get a couple of inches of snow and I drive home from work to find my sidewalks and streets bare.

With this is mind, we follow the general rule:  If the local weather calls for an inch or more, call first to determine if we are open.  We do this for your safety as well as ours.  If you are a local, then we follow the local school closings and delays.  If school opens later by an hour or two, so do we. When school is cancelled, then we are closed.  Our local schools are East Lycoming School District and Muncy School District.  You can reach us by phone at 570-546-7493 if we are open.

Our vendors are busy with changing merchandise around after the holiday season.  With over 20 vendors and consignors, merchandise is brought in almost daily.  From furniture to glassware, linens to jewelry, lighting to giftware...you could spend quite some time in the barn and not see everything.  Come enjoy the atmosphere and take home a treasure or two.

We look forward to your visit.

Today won't happen again for another hundred years. 

The date that is...1-1-11.  If you follow the general description used by antique collectors and dealers (or the lore of the business so to speak), anything you buy today will be an antique on 1-1-2111.  Start a time capsule with something new and store it away for your grandchildren/great-grandchildren and they might open it to find something truly valuable in the future. 
In 1911, Lucille Ball and Ronald Reagan were born.  Crisco was introduced and the New York Public Library was opened.  Collectible items can come from anywhere.  They can be of great value in our everyday lives or a fad item developed for a single use in time.  And then there's always that one person's trash is another person's treasure line of reasoning.  Whatever it is you are searching for or wish to keep for posterity, chances are we can help you at the Olde Barn Centre with information, advice and maybe a piece or two.
Our lobby provides complimentary trade publications and area attraction brochures should you choose to use them.  As always, please review the individual show or store websites for the most accurate information available but here are some upcoming events in 2011:
Black Angus Antiques 2011 Antique Extravaganza, www.stoudts.com  dates are 4/30-5/1; 6/25-26; 9/24-25
York Antiques Show, www.theoriginalyorkantiquesshow.com  1/28-30
Bloomsburg Antique Show, M. Butche Promotions, 3/12-13

Today won't happen again for another hundred years.

The date that is...1-1-11.  If you follow the general description used by antique collectors and dealers (or the lore of the business so to speak), anything you buy today will be an antique on 1-1-2111.  Start a time capsule with something new and store it away for your grandchildren/great-grandchildren and they might open it to find something truly valuable in the future.
In 1911, Lucille Ball and Ronald Reagan were born.  Crisco was introduced and the New York Public Library was opened.  Collectible items can come from anywhere.  They can be of great value in our everyday lives or a fad item developed for a single use in time.  And then there's always that one person's trash is another person's treasure line of reasoning.  Whatever it is you are searching for or wish to keep for posterity, chances are we can help you at the Olde Barn Centre with information, advice and maybe a piece or two.
Our lobby provides complimentary trade publications and area attraction brochures should you choose to use them.  As always, please review the individual show or store websites for the most accurate information available but here are some upcoming events in 2011:
Black Angus Antiques 2011 Antique Extravaganza, www.stoudts.com  dates are 4/30-5/1; 6/25-26; 9/24-25
York Antiques Show, www.theoriginalyorkantiquesshow.com  1/28-30
Bloomsburg Antique Show, M. Butche Promotions, 3/12-13

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!!!