Intermediate League’s antiques show funds 14 community projects
BUTLER TWP — Kathy Ligday had been waiting for this weekend for three years.
The Zelienople native has attended the annual antiques show and sale, hosted by the Greater Federation of Women’s Club Intermediate League of Butler, every year until the coronavirus pandemic put it on hold in 2020.
Ligday returned to the Tanglewood Center for the event Sunday, on her personal treasure hunt.
“I like pretty much any kind of antique,” Ligday said. “I like jewelry, furniture, decorations — I collect them.”
Tables and shelves at the Tanglewood Center, from Friday to Sunday, were filled with antiques from 40 vendors from around the state, and beyond, for the fundraising event. One corner of the center had a model airplane on display surrounded by a group of smaller models, and another room housed a Jesus statue next to a costume of Oogie Boogie from “The Nightmare Before Christmas.” Cases of jewelry and collectibles were interspersed with furniture and glassware from different decades.
Ligday was thrilled with the selection at the 70th anniversary of the antiques show and sale.
Kris Bearer, event chairwoman, said members of the GFWC Intermediate League of Butler start looking for vendors for the sale right after concluding the previous one. Members scour sales all over the country for dealers interested in selling in Butler, which helps give the annual sale variety in items.
However, the sale also has had some vendors return for many years.
“We don’t like to have just one type of thing here,” Bearer said. “You want to have a nice variety, so we start planning right after we do the last one.”
The sale attracted an estimated 1,400 people over the three-day weekend, according to Bearer. The club charges admission to enter the sale, vendors a fee to set up a booth and auctions off a quilt to raise money for community projects each year, according to Susan Morrow, Intermediate League president.
This year, the sale is funding 14 requests from community organizations, including the Butler County Symphony Orchestra, which plans to build a handicap-accessible restroom, and Meals on Wheels, which has been struggling financially throughout the pandemic, Morrow said.
“Some are organizations that cater to a specific need in the community,” she said. “We also strongly support the Butler art community. Some things are needs-based, some are art-based.”
The club estimated that it would make around $9,000 through the event this year, and Bearer said it would be split up among the organizations that requested funding. Although not every submitting organization can benefit from the sale, Bearer said it never hurts to apply.
“We’re always looking for organizations to write us for their projects,” Bearer said.
Community support for the Intermediate League is continuous, Bearer said, which is evident by the customers and the vendors who return to the sale each year. The show also attracted new people who traveled a distance to peek at the antiques.
“It’s our first time here but we heard about it from relatives,” said Pat Seiple, a resident of Greenville. “We thought we would come check it out.”
