Antiques festival sets record attendance
Hundreds of people and dozens of vendors fill Market Street in downtown Clinton on Saturday (Oct. 7) during the 22nd-annual Clinch River Fall Antique Festival. (photo:G Chambers Williams III )
Although the festival ran Friday and Saturday, threatening weather that brought some rain put a damper on Friday’s attendance as the event kicked off.
But that was quickly forgotten as festival visitors jammed downtown streets on Saturday, which featured perfect fall weather with sunshine and temperatures in the 60s, and no hint of rain.
“We had multiple antique vendors who have been doing the show since it started 22 years ago say that this was definitely the largest crowd the show has ever seen,” said Katherine Birkbeck, executive director of Historic Downtown Clinton.
She said there was a record number of vendors lining the streets for the event. “We worked hard to recruit new antique vendors and artisans for Saturday,” Birkbeck said. “Vendors came from all over the Southeast.” Live music and other entertainment, food trucks and trailers, food demonstrations, and special sales in Clinton’s popular downtown stores highlighted the event. Also featured was the Quality Matter Car Show, sponsored by Rusty Wallace Chevrolet, and featuring the Clinton Antique Car Club.