Shriners vs Chantilly shows Same Weekend June 27th
 

So it seems that both these shows are on the same weekend (dumb), and i have never been to either so I would like to go to one as I am looking for new pre war dealers I have not seen before. Mostly looking for pre war stuff especially Cracker Jacks and caramel cards. Chantilly is closer only about 3 hours and I could do a day trip on Friday, Shriners is 6 hours and would probably require an overnight stay.

So costs aside which show am i apt to have better luck at and which show has a bigger pre-war presence. Thanks in advance.

James G

While I am a fan of the Shriners show (and live close to it), the June date is new this year. In my opinion, the one to go to would be the November show as that is the more traditional one and has more of the better dealers. I hope you enjoy whichever show you choose.

Alan

I’ve been to the spring Chantilly VA show and fall Shriners MA show and both are fantastic.

This isn't the true Shriner's Show put on by GBSCC. That happens every November and is a great show. The current spring/summer shows are put on by Lucky's Promotions and do not have the pre war presence of the fall show.

I can only speak on Chantilly, I attended the show in April and had a great time. Fair amount of vintage and pre-war cards, Stan's Vintage Cards was the only dealer with a significant amount of Cracker Jack cards.

James
 

I would double check that the June shrinners is still happening. I heard it’s not happening because there appears to be a lack of dealer/vendor interest.

Chantilly all day

Chantilly in June, Shriner in November
 

As has already been stated - the November Shriner show is the one to get to.

I just took a call yesterday from the Lucky group telling me that the June Shriners show was cancelled, FYI.

Odd, did they say why? I thought that show was always successful.

This was their message:

To our amazing hobby family:
After a lot of careful consideration, we've made the tough call to cancel our June 27–29 Boston Show at Shriners Auditorium.
This wasn’t an easy decision, but we’re committed to quality—for attendees and dealers. But with venue conflicts, shifting show dates, and factors out of our control, this event just wouldn’t have met the standards we, and our attendees, have come to expect from our shows.
We appreciate your understanding and continued support—and we’ll see you at the next one!

I always worry about when I see that... if there will be a next one.

Keep in mind, this is NOT the major Shriners show in November, which has tons of great vintage dealers.

This would've been a new show to the rotation in June, without the heavy vintage focus, and it sounds like it was tough to get off the ground. Probably a tough time of year to try and do it, with vacations and travel around the 4th of July, etc. to get it off the ground.

This shouldn't have any impact on the November Shriners show, which will remain very popular I'm sure...

There should be a next one. The "Shriners show" has been a twice/year event since I got back into the hobby 6 years ago. There's one in April and one in November. Yes, I understand the one in November is the real Shriners show and the one in April has been historically the Rich Altman show, now taken over by Lucky's promotions. Both are really good shows although I think it's generally accepted that a few more national-level vintage guys set up at the November show as compared to the April show. The April promoters tried to slide in a third "Shriners" show and I suspect there wasn't enough dealer interest. Perhaps it was too close to the national, who knows.

Either way, the other two shows are likely to carry on. Also, there's a Northeast Expo show in Marlboro, MA this coming weekend. Last year's show was pretty dang nice, arguably on the level of the April Shriners auditorium event. Because it is west of Boston you get some more cross pollination with the Connecticut and NY dealers who don't have to take their rigs through the trafficky greater boston area. Definitely one worth checking out.