What Is Round Top Antiques Show, What Will I Find There and Where Is Round Top?

Round Top is a small town of 77 inhabitants in Texas that bursts with well over 100 000 visitors twice a year for the largest antique show in the US and one of the biggest in the world. The antique show which started it all over 30 years ago, was put together by Emma Lee Turney of Big Red Barn Antique Show fame. She promoted her shows so well that other venues popped up nearby such as John Saul's Marburger Farms Antique Show now run by Ashley Ferguson and her husband Rick.

Round Top is between Austin and Houston and is about an hour to an hour and a half from either city. The antique show goes on twice a year, once in the spring and once in the fall. There are other shows over Christmas and in the summer, but they are not THE ROUND TOP that so many people travel to.

Round Top Antique Week is the name given to the week when thousands of antique dealers from around the country and some from overseas come to sell their finds at a variety of antique shows. There are about 40 shows spread over several miles spreading to nearby towns such as Shelby, Carmine and Warrenton, Texas.

It is difficult to shop all the shows, so visitors stick to a few major ones. The main shows to visit are the Original Round Top Antique Shows at the Big Red Barn, Marburger Farms, the Arbor, Blue Hills Antique Show and the fields in Warrenton. These shows are spread out so you will need to drive to each one of them. Each show opens on different days with the antique dealers in the fields of Warrenton opening first, followed by Blue Hills Antique Show which are open for two weeks and then shows such as the Arbor and the Old Depot in Round Top which open up shortly before Antique Week. During Antique Week Marburger Farms will open on a Tuesday and then the Big Red Barn on Wednesday. By the following Sunday all the shows are closed and everyone has packed up, so get your shopping done by Saturday.

The dates for Round Top are slightly different every year with the Spring shows happening in April and the Fall shows at the end of September. Do keep in mind that at least a third of the shows are not yet opened on the week before Antique Week such as Marburger Farms and Big Red Barn. The advantage of shopping the week prior to Antique Week is that you can be an early buyer and get better deals, furthermore there is less traffic. Antique Week is really busy and some people stay away because of the traffic and crowds.