As an avid daytripper I love to meet new people, try new restaurants and discover new places and purchase one of a kind knick-knacks and decorator pieces for my home. I live to decorate but I wouldn’t exactly call myself a furniture junkie. Until now. Primarily, because I discovered Round Top—a city that boasts a population of 90 people but comes alive twice a year when thousands of visitors descend upon it for a week-long never to forget shopping experience.
The popular saying, “it’s always bigger in Texas,” certainly applies to the Round Top Antiques Fair. It doesn’t disappoint. In its 49th year, the widely-known antiques fair spans miles with spin offs in the cities of Warrenton and Carmine.
As a four-year veteran of the infamous Round Top Fair, I love calling up a few of my girlfriends and hopping in my car twice a year to drive the one-and-a half hour ride to HWY 237 where it all begins.
No matter what your Travisso style is–there is something for everyone. Of if you don’t have one yet, you’ll have a great time in Round Top discovering your very own new home personal style. Leaving for the day without a purchase usually doesn’t happen. The twice-yearly fair is a mecca of shabby chic, one-of-kind custom jewelry, formal and informal furniture and accessories, vintage finds, Texas primitive, and reputable European antiques from vendors who travel from all over the country to sell their wares in the spring and fall. Chic and sleek cow hides are plentiful and compliment any contemporary home decor.
This year the Round Top spring fair runs from Monday, Mar. 27 to Saturday, Apr. 1. The fall fair begins on Monday, Sept. 25 and runs through Saturday, Sept. 30. Their newly added Winter Antique Show took place Jan. 27 and 28.
For $10 you can purchase a general admission ticket that allows you to enter the 30,000 square-foot Big Red Barn, the Big Red Tent, the Carmine Dance Hall, and the Continental Tent. The admission price is valid for all six days. Tickets are also available each day at the gate. Shopping in comfort is the key here since the Big Red Barn and the Continental Tent are both air-conditioned. Both venues also contain a mix of Early and English Antiques, country, fine glass, decorative pieces and much more.
But if you want to skip the admission price, there are hundreds of kiosks along HWY 237 and the surrounding areas of Warrenton and Carmine that sells a variety of flea market finds and treasures, arts and crafts, home decor accessories, clothing, soaps, boutique items, gifts,boots, and much more.
During my fall excursion to the fair, we parked our car in Warrenton and never left. Free parking is readily available but if you have to pay, there are charitable organizations that charge a nominal fee or allow you to park for a donation. Don’t forget to check out the Warrenton Antiques Market website for dates and times before you go. The Warrenton market usually starts a week before the Round Top fair likewise for the Carmine Antiques Show.
Its best to have a game plan such as the number of days you want to attend, when you want to go, hotel arrangements if you stay more than one day, a shopping list, etc. You can easily spend more than one day perusing all the wares but if you are planning on going on the weekend, know that they it is very crowded. Hotels fill quickly, so plan ahead. A large number of food venues offer typical fair foods such as corn dogs and funnel cakes, but you’ll find an ample amount of BBQ, food trucks offering Tex-Mex and margaritas, sandwiches, desserts and more.
And, if you fall victim to the shop to you drop attitude remember to take a break, relax and most of all have a great experience.
Ya’ll have fun!
