FLORENCE — The biggest antiquing event of the year is happening this weekend in a small community in Southern Colorado. It's the Juntique Antique Show and Market in Florence, which is a two-day event to find hidden treasures at local shops and from vendors.
Florence has coined the nickname, the 'Antique Capital of Colorado,' and since then, it's become a community for collectors and avid antiquers.
"This event allows all those antique stores to put their stuff in the spotlight and bring in some new business," said Jenny Cristelli, the president of the Florence Chamber of Commerce. She says the Junktique show began in the 1990's, "when the Fox sisters brought antiquing to Florence. Florence was kind of on the decline and they wanted to get us back on the map."
Since then, the small community has grown and dozens of new shops have opened. They sell all crafts, vintage items, handmade junk, and more. One of the shops is the Loralie Antique Mall on Main Street.
"It's two days of wild festives of rusty crusty fun," said Rena Pryor, manager of the Loralie Antique Mall. Her store will be one of the dozens open for this weekend's event.
"You'll go through here and see a manual type writer and you think 'oh I used to use one of those, or a rotary phone the kids come in today and they're like, 'how do you use that?' said Pryor.
About 30 vendors will also be lined up on Main Steet selling items at the Junktique event, which is bringing hundreds of people to this small community with rich history.
"They can come to enjoy what we have every day here, a small town feel, and with all the antiques and everything, what a fun carrot," said Pryor.
The Junktique Antique Market and Show is happening on Saturday and Sunday, October 2-3. It begins at 8 a.m. and runs through 5 p.m. There are also more than 15 restaurants offering 'Junktique specials.'
