CHANTILLY, Va. —The mid-Atlantic’s largest antiques flea market, the DC Big Flea & Antiques Market, returned to the Dulles Expo Center in Chantilly, Va., the weekend of April 28-29.

Show promoter D’Amore Promotions has put on scores of antiques and collectable shows throughout the Mid-Atlantic region including the DC Big Flea series and the Virginia Beach Antiques Markets. The DC show, an antiques and/or collectibles-only show has been operating for 20 years. Dealers are typically very pleased with their experience, as evidenced by the show’s vendor return rate of more than 80 percent. At the April show, nearly 600 dealers were spread across two big pavilions selling everything from unusual nautical antiques to more typical vintage furniture and smalls.

Rikki Tikki Company offered an array of vintage decorative pieces from Asia, the Pacific Rim, and elsewhere. Owners Craig and his wife Rattana are from nearby Manassas, Va. Rattana hails from Thailand which helped form the idea for the business. Originally, they opened a store offering Asian arts, but the storefront proved costly. They’ve since evolved to doing shows. This was their third year selling at the DC Big Flea. On their back wall, a Vietnamese multi-panel picture made of mother-of-pearl inlay was priced at a mere $140. On a side wall hung several butterfly displays from the Chiang Mai area of Thailand that ranged in price from $25 to $70.

John Clifford’s Big Ship Salvage had a spread of vintage nautical items ranging from small boat cleats priced around $25 to a ship’s telegraph priced at $1,195 to a nautical anemometer for $795. All are authentic salvaged pieces that are sourced from ship breaking operations. The company is located in Pauline, S.C., and has been in business since 2002. This was their first year at the DC show.

Danny Davis from Florida has been a dealer for 30 years and is a staple at the show. He offered a pair of Witco Marquesan-style tiki plaques, each nearly 3 feet tall, for $450. Elsewhere in his booth, a 1970s era “formula” style pedal car was priced at $650 while an early 20th-century spotlight on a tripod was priced at $495.

Pink Parrot Vintage from Hanover, Pa., had a booth stocked with vintage glassware. Among the offerings was a six-piece set of vintage Pan Am Airline’s glasses with their transatlantic England route motif. The set was priced at $72. Just below were a Hazel Atlas cocktail shaker and eight low-ball glasses dating to the late 1940s. The set was priced at $120. This was owner Leah Van Sant’s second year at the show.

Steampunk came to the show in the booth of Old Town Oldies, a dealer from Adamstown, Md. Owner Tom McGabe offered up everything from vintage slide rules for $14 to vintage fishing reels like an Ocean City priced at $40 and a Penn Senator for $75. But, it was the welding goggles paired with vintage hats that drew the most attention. Pricing on those began at a mere $20.

Next door, Four Winds Collection from Frederick, Md., had a nearly-complete set of Salamander Shoe Company figurines, both large and small. The characters were created in Germany in the 1930s, used as marketing premiums to sell shoes. Shop owner Larry Wellman had five of the original six large characters from a 1970s edition. The set was priced at $500. He also had multiples of the small figures priced at $25 each.

Bill Sheets from Annapolis had an unusual handmade wooden gear fashioned into a coffee table. It was priced at $295. Also in his booth was a Keystone firehouse priced at $150. Bill runs Antiques on the Go, a small multi-dealer antique mall in Pasadena, Md. He has been in the antiques business for 25 years; nine of them full-time. He’s participated in the DC Big Flea three of those years.

The 2018 DC Big Flea and Antiques Market schedule includes shows on July 21-22, Sept.15-16, and Nov. 3-4.

For more information call (757) 430-4735 or visit www.thebigfleamarket.com