Family members aim to keep Midwest Antique and Art show alive after founder’s passing

Sarah van Deest grew up going to the Midwest Antique and Art Show each fall and spring.

Even as an infant, she was there, in her mother, Paula's, arms.

'I would often go antiquing with my mom and dad on the weekends,” said Sarah, now 25. 'I grew up going to the Midwest Antique and Art show. I'd do my best to help my parents set up and would help my mom pass out name tags before the show,” said Sarah, now 25. 'Later, I would do random tasks like watching the doors during show hours, babysitting dealer's children, helping my dad pre-sell tickets before the show opened and most recently helping with the admissions table at the door.”

So when the show opens Sunday morning at Hawkeye Downs Fairgrounds in Cedar Rapids, it won't be unfamiliar for van Deest.

It will, though, be an emotional experience.

Her mother, the show's founder, Paula van Deest, passed away from non-smoking lung cancer in February.

'It's easy to convince yourself everything will be okay, until one day it's not,” Sarah says. 'The reality is hard to face, but I know my mom would want us to keep living, to keep her positive attitude and optimism alive, and to keep working hard.”

So Sarah, her dad Tom van Deest, and other event organizers are working together to make the antique show happen and to honor her mother's legacy.

'Paula was a person who welcomed responsibility and always pursued ways to improve our show,” Tom van Deest says. 'She had broad shoulders and much of the many years of the show's longevity and success were in great part a testament to the behind-the-scenes efforts she contributed. It will not be the same without her and she will never be replaced.”

Paula - an interior designer who also owned The Whippoorwill in the Coventry Gardens Mall in downtown Cedar Rapids for many years - helped start the Midwest Antique and Art show 29 years ago.

'This show will absolutely be bittersweet without Paula's presence,” says fellow event founder Cathy Rawson. 'Our show will endure but we will not forget Paula and all she has done for the show. She was a real asset to the show because she was such a positive force in both promoting the show and promoting our dealers. She knew lots of people and was always upbeat. Lots of people came to see her.”

After nearly three decades the show - held in both the spring and the fall each year - has gained attention from antique dealers and collectors from all over the country, including coming from as far away as California, Maine, Texas and even Canada.

'We have highly respected dealers from across the United States,” said Sarah van Deest 'People enjoy the show for the quality, for its reputation and it's an incredible deal. There are loyal dealers who have been with the show since its establishment. Plus, for shoppers there is always the thrill of the hunt.”

Especially today, when what's old is new again with a fresh coat of paint or repurposed in other ways, Sarah van Deest says the show should appear to a whole new generation.

'I look at sites like Pinterest, Etsy, and Houzz; I watch HGTV and have friends who are really in to re-purposed goods and living more sustainably. One of the best ways to live sustainably is to buy antiques, things that are built incredibly well and will last forever.”

With a growing emphasis on art and design especially mid-century furniture and related accessories, they have encouraged dealers to expand offerings toward tastes of contemporary lifestyles and interest areas, Rawson says.

She said attendees are often surprised by the quality of the displays at the event. 'We have worked hard to attract vendors who take pride in booth presentation with an emphasis on different and exemplary objects,” Rawson says.

'The Midwest and Collector's Eye shows aren't flea markets or garage sales,” added Sarah. 'People spend time to prepare their booth. They have room-like settings and it's very tasteful. I think a lot of people would be surprised.”

The Midwest Antique Show and the Collector's Eye are separate show but the $8 entrance fee gets visitors into both on the 12th. More than 100 total vendors will have items on display. They expect about 1,100 shoppers for the one day fair.

'There are long lines waiting to get in,” said Tom. 'This wouldn't be going on for more than 28 years if it wasn't something special.”

Both Sarah and Tom van Deest agree there was a special connection between their mom and the show and they hope vendors and shoppers alike remember that.

'I want my mom to be remembered as a strong woman, someone who worked extremely hard and was always so humble,” says Sarah van Deest says. 'She always just took initiative and did the work to progress her business and the show often without others realizing her efforts. She just did it. My mom never asked to be in the spotlight, although she definitely deserved it.”

' What: Midwest Antique and Art Show and Collector's Eye

' When: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday

' Cost: $8

' Where: Hawkeye Downs Fairgrounds, 4400 Sixth St. SW, Cedar Rapids

' More information: www.mwantiqueshow.com