My local readers are probably familiar with the Downtown Oronoco Gold Rush, but for those of you who aren’t, it’s an antique show & flea market that has been taking place for 50 years!
I hadn’t been to the Gold Rush for several years (you know, the whole Covid thing), but this past Sunday my sister and I decided to head to Oronoco to check it out. The forecast called for a sunny day in the upper 70’s, so it was the perfect day to wander around amongst the various booths to see what people had.
I really didn’t snap a lot of photos, and this certainly isn’t going to be a comprehensive review of the event, but I thought I’d share a few of my favorite things.
Of course I was drawn to the vintage ornaments, and there were a few to be had.
The prices were reasonable, but I really don’t need to add to my already sizeable collection. Plus I thought it would be a little challenging to carry them around without breaking them.
I saw quite a few vintage sleds …
I would never paint those two, they have a fabulous vintage patina ‘as is’, and they were priced in the $80+ range, so clearly out of my price range. I did see another vendor selling painted sleds, but they were hand-painted with snowmen and things like that (not quite the same as the sleds that I paint), but I neglected to get a photo of her stuff.
There was no shortage of chippy spindles …
and all kinds of vintage everything …
And in another case of the Baader-Meinhof phenomenon, look what I saw …
roller skates along with their black metal carrying case. I’m sure I wouldn’t have even noticed them had I not just worked on one myself.
I opened up the case and it was very similar to mine inside, so this certainly proves that mine was originally meant to be a roller skate case just as the seller claimed.
There are always plenty of quirky items at Gold Rush too.
and certainly lots of seasonal stuff.
To be honest, I snapped the photo of that ‘pumpkins’ sign so that I could try and make my own version of it. Seems like it would be simple enough, right? We’ll see if I get around to that.
I thought the fall colors in this little vignette were nice too.
I hate to say it, but this year the event did not have many booths that spoke to me. There were really only a handful of vendors that had things styled in a fashion that appealed to me. The last time I went to Gold Rush there were so many fabulous vignettes to admire. I thought maybe it was my imagination, but then I went back and looked at my pictures from 2017 and that confirmed it.
This year there was really only one booth that impressed me with their styling, this one from Old Soul Vintage.
She had a fun vintage camp theme going on.
Complete with fishing gear.
But my favorite item in that booth was this one …
How perfect would that be for me? Unfortunately, she did not have my size.
Now, you are probably wondering what I did purchase at Gold Rush, and if so you’re going to be really disappointed. I’m kind of embarrassed to admit to my purchase, but it was a Norwex mop. Seriously, they’re going to vote me off the vintage lovers island. But I find my Norwex window cleaning cloth really functional, and I like the idea of being able to mop my wood floors with plain water too. So after going through the booths of around 200 vintage dealers and finding nothing that I absolutely had to have, I went back to the Norwex booth and bought a mop! What can I say? I guess I was feeling practical.
So how about you? Do you have any fabulous antique shows where you are? And if so, do you usually window shop, or do you always find something fabulously vintage to bring home (or would you bring home a mop)? Or maybe you have a favorite find from the past that you’d like to share. Leave a comment and let us know!
q is for quandie 
I know what you mean about nothing really catching your eye. My husband and I went to what is usually my favorite shop to pick up some vintage….walked out empty-handed! Maybe the gods are telling me I have enough “stuff”…..
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LOL, I think they are speaking to me too 😉
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Love the rusty Fall vignette stuff in the one photo! My kind of stuff! We don’t have many shows around here anymore. I know there is one in Holland MI coming up the first weekend of September. I went once. Some fun vignettes, but pricey! People don’t realize our area (NW IN) has some great places to shop with great prices! (My booth being one of them) Lots of out of state dealers shop around here.
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Good to know! If I ever make it down that way I will look you up for sure 🙂
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I love the Elko flea market. I think it’s 3 times a year, Memorial Day, 4th of July and Labor Day weekends. It’s quite large with a nice variety of vendors.
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My sister and I just made plans to go to Elko on Labor Day weekend! I like that one too, it’s smaller than Oronoco, thus much more manageable. And the Labor Day weekend one always puts me in the spirit for fall 🙂
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Vintage Pickin’ in Fort Payne Alabama! I’m excited for the fall show in October. But my best source is a lifelong/childhood friend who has her own shop in rural Ohio. She knows what I like and what I’m looking for so she texts me pictures. I get “first pick” before it goes in her darling shop. Lucky me🤗 The only downside is that I have to wait until vacation for the trip up there and negotiating with the hubs that I need a big space in the camper storage bay for my “junk.”
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How lucky indeed! I’m envious 😉
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As I have gotten older I’ve learned that if doesn’t speak loudly to me, don’t buy it. Of course I have a basement full of junk that is a result of this learning curve 🤣😂. Love how you bought a mop. Sometimes practicality wins out!!
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Yep, this time it definitely did. And I’ve got the clean floors to prove it 😉
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And I was waiting for a picture of your mop☹️ but I guess I can do a search for that…..haha..
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LOL, I wasn’t sure a mop photo would be of interest to anyone 😉
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I enjoyed your story about your outing and also the pics! You write so well that I really do feel “taken along”! I’m not as big a fan of autumn colors (orange! brown!) as some people but it’s still fun to see 😁 Never heard of a Norwex mop and don’t know squat about ANY mops to be honest! But I felt COMPELLED to look it up and ended up down a tiny Youtube rabbit hole! 🤔🤣
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To be honest I’ve always thought Norwex products were just more pyramid scheme, overpriced items. That being said, I still use my Pampered Chef glass batter bowls on a regular basis after 20 years. And I purchased a Norwex glass cleaning cloth at a garage sale a couple of years ago and I absolutely love it. It’s the best thing for getting a streak free window, and you just need water … no Windex. I especially like using it on the car windows. So I thought I’d take a chance and give the mop a try … and now I’m off to check out that YouTube rabbit hole to learn more about it myself 😉
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I live in Texas and the Roundtop Antiques Show is twice a year. I’ve been once and plan to go in October again. My 15- year old daughter goes with me and we did find a few treasures last time.
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I’ve heard so much about Roundtop, it sounds amazing! I hope you find some treasures in October 🙂
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Oh, thank you for the fond memories of Gold Rush! I have purchased special pieces there over the years. However, since moving to Texas I have not been able to return at that time of the year.
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You’re welcome!
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