Downtown Paris saw the 4th annual Paris Antique Fair the weekend of October 13th. The event, held at the Gibraltar Hotel this year, was a fundraiser for downtown bathrooms that are part of the new park project in the parking lot of First Methodist Church.
This was the first year the event was put on by the Paris Downtown Association. PDA board member Robin Weemes noted that the event was moved from the fairgrounds to downtown saying, “We wanted to promote downtown Paris. What better place to have an Antique Fair than in an antique building.”
A total of $45,000 is needed to complete the downtown bathrooms and with half already raised, the Antique Fair brought in over $7,000 to help fund the project. Over 2,000 people attended the event.
Weemes described the event saying, “We have different vendors from all over the place and they sell their antiques. This year we invited the Getaway Gals. They are a group of girls that travel in vintage trailers. They go to these antique fairs and they set up and you can view the trailers. They are just a lot of fun.”
Weemes is hoping that next year will include more vendors and a bigger fair. “We are super excited about next year’s fair. We’re hoping to not just have it in the Gibraltar, but in the park too. We’ve already got vendors that were there this year wanting to sign up for next year. Next year should be amazing,” she said.
The Paris Antique Fair serves as an annual fundraiser for a city need, a charity or downtown needs. The Paris Downtown Association is comprised of mostly downtown owners, but board member Weemes encouraged anyone interested to join. She said, “Anybody can join and help promote downtown Paris. Help beautify it, and keep it clean.”