OK, so you’ve been hitting the bottle a little too hard during COVID. (Haven’t we all.) Why not turn over a new leaf and spend a morning perusing some priceless empties? Ballston Spa‘s National Bottle Museum is sponsoring its 41st Annual Antique Bottle Show & Sale at the Saratoga County Fairgrounds from 9am–2:30pm on Sunday, June 6.
It’s not just any old event, though. The Antique Bottle Show & Sale is the museum’s biggest annual fundraiser and is attended by dealers and collectors from across the US. All types of bottles and related items will be available for purchase (or viewing), including early New England glass, Midwestern glass, flasks, Bitters, all types of medicinal bottles, canning jars, milk bottles, Nailsea bottles, English and Continental bottles and stoneware. Also included in the haul are bottles made to hold the mineral waters of historic Saratoga Springs and its surrounding springs. Additionally, food and refreshments will be available from the Brickyard Tavern.
Potential bottle-peepers and -buyers can get in for just a five spot and children under 12 enter for free. There’s also an early-bird special available for $15 at 8am sharp (i.e. if you want to call dibs on all the best wares). Parking is free, and all of New York State’s COVID protocols will be followed throughout the event.
The Bottle Museum, located right in Downtown Ballston Spa, will be open all day Sunday, too, for those wishing to learn a little more about the history of bottles and glassblowing, or just to enjoy the glass. The JRM Artists’ Space on the museum’s second floor will also be open for viewing with an exhibition entitled, The Art Of The Bottle IV, with all art having a bottle theme.
