Liberty Antique Festival: everything you need to know before you go!

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This weekend I went to the Liberty Antique Festival in Staley, NC. It was my first time ever going to the festival, and y’all this market did not disappoint! At the festival, I found some of the coolest antiques and vintage treasures, and while I definitely went to hunt for some new / old treasures for our farmhouse… I also went with you in mind!

vintage haul from the Liberty Antique Festival in Staley North Carolina

I usually like to do a little research ahead of a big market or antique show like the Liberty Antique Festival. But when I looked, there wasn’t much info online about this one. At least not a lot of up to date info. Sure you can find basic info on the Liberty Antique Festival event website. But I wanted to read all the insider tips! So today on the blog I thought I’d create the resource I wished I had ahead of the market. I want to share some of my personal tips and just general things you should know before you plan your next trip to the next Liberty Antique Festival!

Note that even if you’re not local to NC, the tips I share in this post can be applied to just about any antique festival or flea market local to you!

Looking for something specific?

Click any of the links below to “jump” ahead!

Planning your trip

food at the festival

things to bring

Prices & negotiating

going on Friday vs. Saturday

Liberty Antique Festival Haul

Is Liberty an antique market worth going to?

Before we get into all the details about the festival, you might be wondering whether or not Liberty Antique Festival is an antique market worth going to. The short answer is yes!

Liberty Antique Festival is definitely a market worth going to! Whether you live close by, or even if you have to drive a few hours, there is so much to see at this festival. I normally am really good about taking photos when I go to antique markets and vintage shopping events like Liberty. But there were just so many booths and vendors, and row after row of treasures! I literally only took 2 photos the entire time I was there. I wish I had taken more! But I didn’t slow down long enough to take more photos, and I still didn’t get to see everything! That should tell you something about just how much there is to see at the Liberty Antique Festival.

I took the photo below to help me remember the exact booth and location where I purchased this pretty antique frame!

antique wood frame with gold trim detail from the Liberty Antique Festival

And I took this next photo because I was so inspired by the Christmas ornament display in this particular booth! The rest of the photos in this post were taken on our front porch, and they show the items I bought at my visit to the Liberty Antique Festival.

vintage Christmas ornament display on a vintage frame at the Liberty Antique Festival

Planning your trip to the Liberty Antique Festival:

Where is the Liberty Antique Festival located?

The festival is located at the Pike Family Farm.

Address: 2855 Pike Farm Rd, Staley, NC 27355

When is the next event scheduled for?

The Liberty Antique Festival happens twice each year, once in the fall and once in the spring. The market is always scheduled on the last Friday and Saturday of the month in April as well as in September. And as someone who was born in North Carolina and is used to the summer heat waves and humidity… I am so glad they picked April and September because they’re the perfect months for good market weather. Not too hot, and not too cold!

How much does it cost to enter?

Admission costs $10, and children 12 and under get in for free.

How hard is it to find parking?

Parking was pretty straightforward and simple, and there was plenty of spaces available when I arrived. There were also lots of people working to direct traffic, waving you down the gravel road and into the parking lot. You can tell how much work goes into this event by how organized it all was. Including the parking, but also just in general!

What about getting around the festival grounds?

In my opinion, the festival grounds were well very organized and easy to navigate. I even met up with a new friend at the festival, and we had no troubles finding our way to each other despite the size of the venue and the crowds.

When navigating the festival grounds… pay attention to the signs that say “Row A”, and so on. These markers will help you keep track of where you are and which rows you’ve already walked down. And if you purchase something that’s too big to carry with you while you shop (like the table I found), you can leave your purchases at the vendor’s booth with a “sold tag” on it. The row signs can then be used help you locate your purchases when you’re ready to leave the festival. Just make a mental note of the booth and the row letter of the aisle you’re on so you can easily get back to the booth where you purchased your items.

Is there food for sale at the Liberty Antique Festival?

Yes there is food onsite at the back of the festival grounds behind the vendor booths. In the fall they were serving Eastern NC barbecue, burgers, hot dogs, and there was also a Food truck was cooking up “Asian chicken on a stick”. I had the barbecue sandwich and it was so good! It gave me the boost of energy I needed midway through the day.

You’re not supposed to bring outside food or drinks into the festival grounds. And honestly, I’m glad I didn’t because I would have had to carry it around with me all through the market!

What should I bring with me?

  • Either a big market bag to carry any small purchases as you shop (This oversized market bag was perfect for storing away my smaller purchases while I shopped!)
  • Or small wagon to pull your items in (I regretted not bringing my collapsible beach wagon!)
  • Cash – many of the vendors only accept cash. There are ATM’s on site, but depending on your bank you may have to pay a service fee to use their ATM’s to withdraw money.
  • Comfortable shoes – you’ll be doing A LOT of walking!
  • An empty trunk – make sure to empty out the trunk of your vehicle before you go. You don’t want to have to pass up any treasures just because they won’t fit in your car!

How are the prices at the Liberty Antique Festival?

The Liberty Antique Festival is made up of over 400 vendors from 25 different states! I found the prices to be pretty on par with other antique markets I’ve been to in the past. There were some things I found and loved that were way over my budget. But there were also some things I was pleasantly surprised to find at a much lower price point than I expected. For example, the box of vintage Christmas ornaments I found were $1. You can’t beat $1!

Each vendor sets their own prices, so you’ll find that the pricing really varies from vendor to vendor. Additionally some vendors were a lot more willing to negotiate and come down on their prices to make the sale.

Negotiating with the vendors

My best tip for negotiating with vendors is to be friendly, and to simply ask them “What’s the best price you can do for this …..” Don’t expect them to give it away so to speak, but also don’t be afraid to ask if there’s any wiggle room in the price, especially if it’s a piece you love!

What’s it like going on a Friday vs. a Saturday?

I mentioned earlier that I met up with a friend at the festival. Well, my friend actually got to go to the festival both days! And she had a really interesting perspective on the difference between going on a Friday vs. a Saturday.

Friday being the first day of the market, you get to see it all and scope it out! You get to be the lucky name written on that “sold” tag of that one of a kind antique find because you got there first! But Saturday… being the final day of the festival, Saturday is the day to score big savings on your finds. (Like this cool table I found… It was originally priced at $150 but I got it for $25 just a couple hours before the end of the festival!)

distressed white table with a reclaimed wood tabletop on a screened in porch

Vendors are more likely to let things go at a lower price on Saturday. No one wants to bring back a full vehicle or trailer of inventory! Towards the end of the second day I even heard some vendors saying “This section is 50% off” or “all furniture 75% off”. Now that’s my kind of shopping!

Personally I think it’s worth going both days if you have the time and are able to do so. The festival is so big, it’s hard to see it all in just a day!

My Haul from the Liberty Antique Festival

I already had a set of 5 of these vintage Whitehall drinking glasses, and I found the 6th one to even out my collection at Liberty!

single vintage whitehall green drinking glass

Another thing I found was this wooden horse stirrup! I started collecting these a while back, and it’s been hard to find them out in the wild in my area.

vintage bentwood wooden horse stirrup with the price tag from the Liberty Antique Festival

This antique frame was my first purchase of the day, and a great deal at only $15. I’ve seen similar frames go for much higher!

antique wood frame with gold trim detail

And last but not least, the table and the Christmas ornaments! I plan to clean up the top of the table and use it on our screened in porch for the time being.

vintage haul from the Liberty Antique Festival in Staley North Carolina including a white and wood table, an antique wood frame, vintage Christmas ornaments, a wooden stirrup, and vintage whitehall glassware

If you’ve never been to the Liberty Antique Festival before, I hope this post gave you some helpful insider tips about the market, from one antique loving friend to another. I had a wonderful time at the market myself, and I can’t wait to go back to the next one!

And if you enjoyed today’s post, and you’d like to see more like it… Be sure to subscribe to my email newsletter below. Good friends share the good stuff – including the low down on all my favorite honeyholes and the best places to shop for antiques and vintage finds like the ones in today’s post! So let’s be friends…

Oh, you’ll also want to check out another recent post I wrote: my ultimate guide to thrifted home decor! It’s full of my best thrifting tips and tons of helpful resources. Thanks for stopping by the blog today!! Until next time…

Love, Brittany

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