Extravaganza!

Many of the quirky vintage items in my home were purchased at Renninger's Antique Market in Mt. Dora, FL, specifically during one of their three annual Extravaganzas. Every year, for as long as I can remember, they have been hosting giant antique and collectible shows in November, January and February, where hundreds of dealers from the all over the country bring great vintage stuff to Central Florida. There are almost too many booths to see in one day, and it is one of the rare Florida locations with hills, so a day of trudging around the extravaganza is pretty exhausting. But always fun.

If it's from the past, you can find it here. My current obsessions are vintage advertising ephemera and Florida memorabilia and it's here in great abundance. I do pretty well at not spending too much money, reminding myself that Christmas is only a month away, but it's nearly impossible to return home empty handed. Last year, entertaining a friend from San Francisco, we went two days in a row, so he could purchase several large items and ship them to California for resale.

My wife and I purchased our dining room set at one extravaganza years ago, hurridly renting a U-haul in nearby Apopka and rushing back to the extravaganza just before dark. So walking around over the dusty hills brings back fond memories of finding great treasures, some that came home with me, some left for another lucky buyer.

It's a great place for photography too; there are bizarre juxtapositions of objects at every turn and countless colorful details everywhere. I ran into a friend from Flickr and noticed several others have visited as well. As I resulted I started a Flickr group for others who enjoy seeing the beauty in objects from the past as much as I do.