GLEN RIDGE, NJ — According to Dorothy Waldt, this year’s manager of the annual Glen Ridge Antique Show, total revenue for the recent 70th anniversary show was more than $22,000. This is about $2,000 above last year’s revenue total.
“The exciting number is that our profits were about $16,000 and the largest in several years,” she said in an email. “We can attribute those gains to increases in revenue and decreases in spending.”
Waldt, who managed the show for her second year, said she did not have an exact attendance figure yet, but believes it will be more than 1,000.
“In spite of snow on our opening day, we estimated attendance to be close to 400,” she said. “And we had a steady flow of people on Saturday.
Overall revenue from attendance was up by about 7 percent, a number we’re proud of, given that other antiques shows are reporting declines.”
Proceeds from food services increased 22 percent from last year.
“Our show has a long-standing reputation for serving great food but we believe that changing our lunch offering to an a la carte menu coupled with a special Friday dinner in celebration of our 70th anniversary show made the difference here,” she said.
The show is sponsored by the Women’s Association of the Glen Ridge Congregational Church which distributes the proceeds.
The charities benefiting are United Church of Christ Disaster Relief Ministry Fund, Big Brother/Big Sister, Bloomfield Food Pantry, Integrity House, HomeCorp, Interfaith Hospitality Network, Toni’s Kitchen, Meeting Emergency Needs With Dignity, Safe House, and Montclair Human Needs Food Pantry. “The show makes a direct contribution to Integrity House as, every year, clients of Integrity House provide our dealers with enormous support, loading their merchandise in and out of the show,” Waldt said. “We can’t thank them enough for their hard work and good spirits, even when the weather is less than cooperative, as it has been in past years. Working with the clients of Integrity House is one of the joys we look forward to every year; our gratitude to them runs deeply.”