Last weekend I was fortunate enough to share a booth with my partner at the first ever Vintage in the Hudson valley festival held at the Ulster county fairgrounds in New Paltz. I wasn’t sure what to expect, not that I have a huge number of vintage vending events under my belt, but having formerly owned a cafe and working in the restaurant industry for 30 years I did many different types of events at many different types of locations. This festival combined the love of vintage things with 2 days of music and there were food trucks as well. What is there not to love?
Our booth was a total nostalgia trip with vinyl records and cassette tapes, band t-shirts from the 90’s and some hidden gems of vintage clothing that I have acquired through the years. The biggest draw to our booth was our intense collection of vintage board games. Gathered from garage sales and thrift stores, most attendes walked into our booth remarking how it felt like Toys ‘R’ Us in the 80’s and 90’s. A wall of nostalgic games ranging from the 50’s to the 2000’s everyone who entered the booth had a story to tell about one game or another. Some people had a very, very, very specific game they were looking for and others just wanted to take a walk down memory lane.
Its funny. When my partner stared collecting these games I didn’t think much of it. He grew up playing board games with family and throughout his whole life so it just seemed like a natural thing. I played mostly as a kid and very rarely as an adult. He had so many memories about the games. Where he was when he played them and who was there. I found most people who came into our booth had the same response. It wasn’t about just a game, it was a glimpse of a time specific. I think this is half the equation of why we love vintage so much right now as a culture especially in the Hudson valley. We know the world is driveled with so much overload of information and we spend so much of our lives consuming things that are designed to disappear. A social media post lasts a day. A trend lasts a week. A phone is outdated in a few years. Vintage objects have already survived decades. They have stories before we bring them home.
Personally I started falling in love with the graphics and designs of the board games. Each decade has such specific fonts and colors like psychedelic 60’s or neon 80’s and some packaging has added pictures that are a hoot. One box says “fun for the whole family” while the picture displays dad and son playing while mom and daughter wash dishes and look in from the kitchen. Or another game you have the capability of winning a gorgeous secretary as a prize. While some games show their age others like Othello and Clue are timeless. I’d say tho the unexpected part about collecting board games has been the little additions some games have when we open them for the first time. I think everyone has had a board game with parts from another in it, so we often find that, but we have also found many family momentos. Family pictures of people who once played the game or a score board with rival siblings names listed which I am sure turned into a lifetime of hating one specific game for one specific reason. And the circle goes round.
I wish I had escaped the booth a bit more but the thrill of the people kept me in. I left that weekend thinking less about what we had sold and more about the stories people had shared. Every board game or shirt led to another conversation or a face lighting up. I don’t think this festival was just about buying old things. It’s about community and connection and finding your people.
The organizers of this event did such a fantastic job. We look forward to next year which is already on the books and can’t wait to see what they add next time.
