First, let's talk about dates. In Fall 2017 a lot of venues changed their dates which led to a lot of confusion and upset people. Texas Antique Week has been getting earlier and earlier each year, making it go longer as well. You will find that the Warrenton Area vendors will start moving in as early as the week of March 12th/September 10th, allowing them to be fully set up by that weekend. Since this is still rather early you will find a lot of venues still closed and vendors moving in, But if you want to start early this is where you go. Over the next couple of weeks more venues will be opening, spanning from Burton through Carmine, to Shelby, Round Top and on to LaGrange up and down 237.
Now let's visit some of the venues. First off is the Big Red Barn, this venue is the original antique fair and has been recognized as one of the best antique shows in the nation. The show dates for Spring 2018 are April 2-7, this is a date changer for this venue. Big Red Barn is located on 237, there is a lot of parking but they do charge admission of $10. The small town of Carmine has antique stores open throughout the year but will bring in extra vendors that will set up around town. These vendors will go from Mid-March to April 8th. Carmine Dance Hall will be open March 24-29, keeping with their original dates. Up the road from Big Red Barn on 237 are a few other venues, one of those being La Bahia Antique Show with dates of March 30 - April 7. Now let's head down the road to Blue Hills at Round Top. This is a gorgeous venue with great vendors, parking, and Methodist Men's BBQ. It's a must do stop and the dates are March 24 - April 7. Think that's a lot? We've only just begun!! Like I said there are several other venues all up and down 237, but let's head into Round Top. Round Top is a quaint little town with a population of only 90. You would think it's pretty quiet here but after all the Texas Antique Week excitement is over Round Top keeps it going with events throughout the year. The first place to look at and get information is the Round Top Chamber of Commerce. Here you can get information about events, venues, and lodging. Round Top stores are open year round but during the antique show, more vendors come into town. Henkel Square is full of stores that are open extended hours during the show. Henkel Hall will also have vendors set up as well as Bistro 108. More about food later in the blog. There is also Bybee Square, Rummel Square and various stores throughout town. The DYD Fair is located on the courthouse square with vendors set up there as well. Another stop in Round Top is the Stone Celler, antiques, food and drink & music all in one place.
Tired yet? We just barely made it through it all. Let's head on down the road. Traveling south on 237 you will find Junk Gypsy World Headquarters, this is a show all it's own. Food, music, and the Junk Gypsy way of life, you will for sure have a good time here. You may even spot Amie, Jolie or Archie running around. Don't forget to get a pic in front of Large Marge. Traveling on you will find Cowboy Corner, where you can take your pic with a very large Jackalope. Didn't think they existed...they do here!! Cowboy Corner and other vendors in this area tend to set up early, no set dates yet but by the week of March 26 should be good, if not sooner. Now let's head to Marburger Farm Antique Show.The Marburger show use to run the same time as Big Red Barn, but Marburger kept to its original dates for the Spring Show, so keep that in mind if you are wanting to go to both. Marburger Farm will be open March 27-31. This is a huge show that does charge $10/per person with an early buying admission on Tuesday for $25. There are over 350 dealers from around the world in what looks like an old west movie set. You can definitely spend all day at this one. Just passed Marburger you will find The Compound. A new event venue bringing you events throughout the year. This gorgeous facility will have vendors setting up March 24 - April 7. A must stop that will not disappoint.
Well, we have done what looks to be like a week of antiquing. But guess what!!! We are not even into Warrenton yet!! Warrenton is Huge!!!! This is a very easy place to get overwhelmed. Just breathe relax and shop. Warrenton has several different venues and fields to shop, all opening at different times. Cole's Antique Show will run March 24 - April 7, I noticed last show that some vendors will leave early. But with over 250 vendors in just this one spot, there is a lot to choose from. You also have Excess Field that will be open March 27 - April 6. Warrenton has so many different areas all opening at different times. You have the fields like Bar W that will open up early and stay long, as well as other places throughout Warrenton. The MarketPlace will open March 23 - April 7. This is more of your boutique type vendors and not so many antiques. Then you have Zapp Hall, the show that everyone waits on. It's a combination of old, new, and boutique vendors and will be running March 30 - April 7. But you can get an early start during vendors set up the week before. There is so much more that if I kept on this would be a 50-page blog. Antiques go on and on and you can also find places to go in Burton, Shelby, Fayetteville, and into La Grange. La Grange can fix your shopping need without getting into all the traffic. Fun and great shops are located all around the square. Don't forget to visit the Visitors Center for all information, souvenirs, and a history lesson of the town.I know all that shopping has made you hungry, I'm hungry just writing about it.Throughout all areas of the antique show, you will find plenty of food trucks and pop up food vendors with a variety of tasty food. But if you are looking for a more sit down meal here is my list of suggestions. But first, I would like to say that this is a very very busy time for the area. Some restaurants have a small staff. Please keep in mind that waits can be long, food can take a while to receive and it can be very crowded. The staff is doing the best they can to serve you, they have worked hours and hours and served 100's of people. Before you get upset about something please put yourself in their shoes.
Let's start off in Burton. The two places that we head to are Burton Roadhouse and The Cactus. Burton Roadhouse is a great place to relax, play pool and listen to some tunes. They have great pizza and paninis. My husbands personal favorite is the Boss pizza while I love the Cuban panini. The Cactus has been around forever. Now, this is the type of place that if outer looks scare you, then you don't need to go. It's a truly local place that has all you can eat chicken fried steak buffet on Wednesday's. You need to get there early to not miss out on the sides. Wednesday opens at 6 then they are open Friday and Saturday night and Sunday for lunch with a chicken buffet. Carmine has a great little place called The Pie Shack that offers burgers, sandwiches, and pie!!. There is also JW's Steakhouse, offering daily specials and a variety of great food and drink. Round Top has several choices when it comes to eating in. There is a new Mexican and Italian restaurant coming to town and should be open by Antique Week. Follow my Instagram for upcoming news about the openings. Royer's Round Top Cafe is the most popular place when it comes to Round Top. They are famous for their pies and I can't argue with that when it comes to The Junkberry. But you will love the Shrimp BLT, Awesome Steak, Micha's Pasta, and Stuffed Quail. This place is awesome and is only open certain times during the show. If you want to eat dinner there you must make a reservation, they do seatings during the show. Check out their website for the day reservations start. The Garden Company is a new restaurant in town that has amazing food as well as drinks. A very nice restaurant that will require reservations as well. Teague's Tavern is more of your fun bar and grill type environment with great Bloody Mary's and yummy Chicken Fried Steak Sliders. Bistro 108 sets up in Henkel Hall and has the most amazing soup. I love their grilled cheese and tomato soup, it's like comfort food in a container. Stone Cellar will be serving their salads and pizza, but keep in mind that the pizza will be personal size. You can serve a lot more with the smaller size. If you are looking for just a quick and great homemade sandwich don't forget about the Mercantile. Great sandwiches made right in front of you. If you are looking for coffee or a light snack, or even pie, you can go to Royer's Pie Haven or Espressions Coffee Shop. Don't forget you can take a whole pie home with you from either Royer's location in town.Right outside of Round Top is a new venue called Bader Ranch.
Events are a big thing during Antique Week and you will be able to find something to do almost every single night. The Stone Cellar Round Top has live music several nights during the show as well as Teagues Tavern. Bybee Square in Round Top will also have live performances. Festival Hill will have performances from time to time.Warrenton has lots to do day and night. From wine tastings to martini bars to live music. The Marketplace has live music and Church service on Sunday. Zapp Hall is a happening place each night during their show with live music at the beer gardens and of course the party of them all the Junk Gypsy Junk O'Rama Prom. This is the event that draws a huge crowd and will have you coming back every year. You will have more fun people watching than anything else. If you love a good Karaoke time then Kountry Chick is your person. Denise has shows all around the area throughout the entire antique show and you are for sure will have a great time. One of the new places we found to go is Ya Ya Gurlz. This boutique has great clothes (it's where I found my awesome duster) fabulous hamburgers and live music throughout the show. We actually left the prom in Fall and made our way to this party. Also a lot of the stores in Round Top plan special events and trunk shows for their customers during the antique show. You can find out about these events through the Chamber of Commerce.
Because Texas Antique Week is huge all this information is a lot to take in. Here are a few more pointers. There is a Round Top App that you can download and follow Visit Round Top for updates. You can pick up a copy of the Show Daily everywhere during the show. This magazine has a full map and shows you where the venues are located. But one of the best ones to follow is Going To Round Top on Instagram or go to their website, Katie & Lorie tell you everything you need to know during the show and if you sign up for their daily antique week email you will get updates every morning about all the events that are happening that day. There is also the Antique Weekend website that gives very detailed information about the entire show.
Traffic can and will be bad especially Friday - Sunday. Look at Google Maps and this will be a big help to let you know what you will be dealing with. It can at times take 35 minutes to go 4 miles. Between 9-10 in the morning and 4-5 I feel are the heaviest traffic times. Make sure you have gas, there is only one gas station in Round Top with the other two being in Carmine. Also having cash can be better than carrying a card. There is one bank in Round Top and Carmine but there are mobile ATM's set up almost everywhere (they are bright yellow and you can't miss them). Of course with these, you will have fees with it. But one of the most important reasons to carry cash is because phone service is very minimal, especially if there are 100,000 people. Because so many vendors use Square they have to have the internet to process the credit cards. So, the bad internet means hard times at running the cards through. It's just faster and easier to have cash on you.
Parking is not a problem because there is plenty of it. But make sure you park in a legal parking area because you will get towed. Most places have free parking until you get into Warrenton. Bar W and the Marketplace offer free parking but passed that you will pay about $5. I usually park at the Marketplace and walk everywhere else. If you are a buyer you want to make sure to bring a wagon or something similar to carry everything in. But of course, if you bought something that you just can't carry back with you then a trip to Distinguished Transport will be in order. If you buy something and plan to come back and get it later make sure you write down the location so you know where to go back to. Wear comfortable clothes and don't forget your rain boots. The fields get muddy and nasty and it always rains at least once during the show. Another important reminder, don't forget to talk to locals, they know all and can tell all that needs to be known.
There is so much more that I could have told you, but this gets you started. The information and all the links I provided will get you started on your planning for visiting Teas Antique Week with us. Just keep in mind, be patient, be kind, and have fun. This is a great time to be had by all twice a year.
Happy Antiquing,
Cyndi
*All pictures courtesy of business website or Facebook. This blog was written as suggestions and opinions by the writer.
