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February 2, 2010

Civil War show returns to trade center

Charles Oliver

Mike Kent said Tuesday he was working with officials at the Northwest Georgia Trade and Convention Center to squeeze just a few more vendors tables into the facility for this weekend’s Chickamauga Civil War Show and Sale.

“We’ve got 425 tables so far. It’s probably the largest show we’ve ever done, and we are about maxed out,” said Kent, the organizer of the event.

The show will be Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Admission is $8, with children under 12 admitted free.

Kent said he will have vendors from as far away as New York, New Jersey, Arizona and California.

“I never know what these guys will bring. But I always know it will be unique,” he said. “They pick up stuff every day and every week from auctions and estate sales. One guy, I know, will have a 16-table display of Confederate arms.”

The show has been held annually at the trade center for the past 15 years. Kent has promoted the past four.

“It started out as what we call a diggers show, people that dug for relics and wanted to display those relics,” he said.

But Dalton proved to be a great site, and the show grew, he said.

“There was a lot of Civil War activity there, especially towards the end of the war. It’s relatively close to where some of the major battles were, Atlanta on the south side and Nashville and Chattanooga on the north aide,” he said. “And the Northwest Georgia Trade and Convention Center has played a big part. It’s a fantastic venue. We do shows all over the country, and it’s one of the nicest and most successful places we do business with.”

How does he keep the show growing?

“One thing will be a little bit different this year. We’ve opened the show up to World War I and World War II artifacts. There’s such a demand for those items. There are so many collectors. And the items are much more available and much more affordable than some of the Civil War stuff is,” he said. “We did a pilot program last year. Word got out real quick, and it was well received by the public.”

Kent said he expects around 2,000 people or more to attend from Georgia and neighboring states.

“We’ll even have a few regulars who may drive in from as far away as Virginia or Florida,” he said.

Kent said with the sesquicentennial of the Civil War starting in 2011 interest is building.

“We anticipate there will be some new books come out. There will probably be a movie or two, maybe not big screen but certainly some TV movies,” he said.







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