Brimfield Antique Market: World’s Largest!

If you’ve been buying and/or selling vintage and antiques for long, then chances are you’ve heard of the Brimfield Antique Market. It completely overtakes the tiny town of Brimfield, MA, resulting in a Main Street filled with numerous fields, each overflowing with antique booths.

Martha Stewart has mentioned attending Brimfield both on her show and in her magazines. She says it’s one of her favorites.

Sweet husband and I had the chance to attend recently and had so much fun enjoying all the displays and hunting for treasures.

A trip to brimfield antique market with pic of antique enamelware

Table of Contents

How Brimfield Works
Brimfield Merchandise
Planning Your Trip to Brimfield (dates, directions, maps, etc.)
What to Bring to Brimfield
Magazine Feature: Simply Saratoga Home & Garden

How Brimfield Works

Rows of tents at Brimfield antique flea market

Along the main street of Brimfield you can find multiple “fields” of antique booths like the one you see above. Most contain 100 or more individual dealers selling from their booths.

Brimfield Antique Flea Market Booth

Most are chockful of merchandise like this one.

This booth filled with all sorts of farmhouse goodness was one of my favorites.

Glavanized wares and other antiques

Here’s a closer look at that same booth.

Brimfield Merchandise

If you can name it (and it’s vintage or antique), then you can find it at Brimfield! I should mention that most merchandise is not cheap(!). But search hard and you’ll find a hidden treasure or two.

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Collection of enamelware at Brimfield Antique Flea market

Such a gorgeous display of antique enamelware.

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Vintage clothespins displayed in a basket

A fun way to display and sell antique clothespins.

vintage and antique glassware

Some attractive Mid-Century Modern glassware.

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collection of white ceramic glove molds

I’ve alway been fascinated by these glove forms but haven’t yet come across any that I could pick up at a reasonable price (more reasonable than $25!).

collection of antique cutting boards

This was probably my all-time favorite display at the market. So many antique cutting boards all in one place!!

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Large white and green doll house

This antique dollhouse in white and green would look fantastic in an old house with high ceilings and wood floors, atop a narrow table or sideboard, wouldn’t it?

Colorful antique feed sacks

Have you ever seen so many antique feed sacks all in one place?!! This display was amazing and the prices weren’t too bad at $25 each.

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Purple pot of flowers on white wicker

Planning Your Trip to Brimfield

Print out this Brimfield broshure. It contains much of the essential info you need to know about the market, including dates, a small map, and some general directions.

Dates & Times

The Brimfield Market is held three times a year: May, July, and September. Here are the dates for 2024:

  • May 14-19, 2024
  • July 9-14, 2024
  • September 3-8, 2024

While there are no official start and close times for Brimfield, many booths open at dawn and close at dusk, though this isn’t true for all of them.

Here’s the official Brimfield Antique Market website.

Directions

Brimfield is located in central, Massachusettes. The website recommends setting your GPS for:

Town Hall
21 Main Street (Route 20)
Brimfield, MA 01010

Get old fashioned (written) directions HERE.

Which Field(s) to Aim For

This page of the official Brimfield Market website lists 17 different fields buyers can shop from. It also includes the specific days each is open.

Not all of the fields are open all six days. For example, Dealer’s Choice field is only open one day out of the six.

Shoppers who have attended Brimfield for years have their favorite fields and their favorite dealers. However, if you’re attending for the first time, I recommend not paying too much attention to which field(s) or dealer(s) are “best”.

We’ve attended twice and both times applied our personal strategy: we drove into town, randomly found parking, and simply started walking down Main Street. We turned into fields/areas that looked interesting and happily wandered around.

NOTE: The fields stretch along both sides of Main Street (Route 20) for about a mile.

Map of Fields

The official Brimfield broshure contains a map of all of the fields on the Main Street.

Entry Fees

Many fields are free. Some charge $5 for the first day, but are free thereafter. Every field sets its own rate, but none seem to charge more than $5.

Parking (fees)

You’ll find ample parking in Brimfield. Each field has its own designated parking with fees from $5-$10/day.

Bathrooms

Porta potties are pretty abundant in Brimfield. Most, if not all, fields have them. Any dealer can help you since they will be using the nearest ones themselves.

ATMs

According to the website, you can find several ATMs throughout town. Again, most dealers can point you in the right direction.

Credit cards

Be safe and bring plenty of cash; however, some dealers take credit cards and/or venmo.

Food

Don’t worry about having to leave the show to find food. You’ll find plenty of food trucks offering typical fare all along the route. Sweet husband enjoyed a yummy sausage sandwhich and shared his large tub of cheese-covered fries with me.

Crowds

You won’t find it difficult to shop since there are so many booths! In other words, you won’t be cheek to jowl with other shoppers.

We found everyone at this show, including both shoppers and dealers, to be very friendly and helpful. Shopping at Brimfield is a generally pleasant experience.

If you want to avoid crowds and/or conjested roads, arrive early and leave early. Also, avoid attending the show on Saturdays–the most popular day.

Unanswered Questions

Check the Brimfield website FAQs.

White bicycle with sign flowernest farm

What to Bring to Brimfield

  • Comfortable shoes: Sneakers are your best bet.
  • Sun Protection: Sunscreen II Sunglasses II Visor
  • Umbrella II Poncho: If the weather report calls for a chance of rain.
  • Water bottle: Stay hydrated!
  • Plastic bags: Dealers often run out.
  • Cash II Credit card: Many dealers take credit cards and their are a number of ATMs throughout town.
  • Hand sanitizer II Tissue: Your hands will get dirty from rummaging and from eating.
  • Cross-body bag: To carry many of the items above.
  • Wheeled bag or cart: If you think you’ll buy a lot and will roam far from your vehicle. Note: Not all the fields allow for easy wheeling, many have gravel or grass pathways.

Magazine Feature

Simply Saratoga Home & Garden magazine recently feature Adirondack Girl @ Heart in their Summer 2024 issue. They covered our trip to Brimfield and included a few of the photos I took while there. You can read the magazine article HERE.

Conclusion

Every antique lover should visit Brimfield Antique Market at least once if given the chance.

Even if you don’t buy anything, handling new-to-you merchandise, talking with dealers, and taking lots of photos turns your trip into an important learning experience that I highly recommend.

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Come take a trip with me to Brimfield Antique Market: The World's Largest!

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4 Comments

  1. Although I have never been to the Brimfield show, long before Covid we stayed in Sturbridge for a dollhouse show, did Sturbridge village (I love it there), and did the antique stores in the area. Had a wonderful time!

    1. So much to see and do in Central MA! I went to Sturbridge when I was in Girl Scouts (a few years ago, LOL) and would love to go back sometime 🙂

  2. Diana,
    Thanks for the memories! My husband and I attended Brimfield at least once each year for many years and absolutely loved it. We had many friends among the vendors there and it was a week-long party. Your pics brought back so many memories. Makes me want to travel there again but we lived in PA then and have to travel from Florida now. I agree with you that anyone who is interested in antiques should try to attend at least once. So worth it!

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