This year’s Art ‘N Antiques show will have a more haunting character than usual thanks to a Halloween partnership with the Preservation Society of Columbus, bringing a weekend of events with a new Victorian mourning theme.
The Art ‘N Antiques show has been held for more than 40 years, courtesy of the Columbus-Lowndes Convention and Visitors Bureau. This year they’re joined by PSC, which is expanding beyond its usual spring home tours to try its hand at Halloween programming in a series of funerary parties, ghost tours and historical character actors.
“It’s going to be a great weekend,” said Frances Glenn, CVB’s tourism director. “We have some returning dealers but also lots of new ones that have never been to Columbus. The opening reception, even though we do that every year, will be new and different this time. … We’re trying to draw in new customers this year, and I think partnering with the PSC will get a whole new crop of people.”
The Art ‘N Antiques show will start Thursday at 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at the Rosenzweig Arts Center downtown, followed by the PSC’s Victorian Mourning Party in the Stephen D. Lee Home from 7:30-9:30. The Art ‘N Antiques show will continue from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday.
Glenn said organizers will have a host of information and artifacts related to Victorian mourning customs, and they encourage guests in both events to dress up in traditional Victorian mourning costumes.
“The Victorians had all sorts of strange mourning traditions. They would dress for different periods of time depending on how close their relationship was to the deceased,” she said. “Of course they’d wear black, the ladies would wear veils. There’s going to be a small exhibit in the back gallery of Victorian mourning pieces. They used to create jewelry out of the deceased’s hair, they took postmortem pictures because they’d never been photographed. We’re going to have some neat pieces and a small exhibit in the back gallery.”
Friday will start with a 9 a.m. presentation by Danielle Reaves, a specialist in 18th and 19th century fashion. PSC will open private homes in the afternoon for a “ghost tales home tour” led by the homeowners, capping the night with a “Boos and Brews” pub crawl through downtown Columbus from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m.
PSC president Jace Ferraez is particularly excited about a new event titled “Ghost Tales In Catfish Alley,” which will begin at 6:30 p.m. Saturday and star historical reenactors bringing to life some of the real people that once lived in the old heart of Columbus’ Black business district.
“That one is probably going to be my favorite, although I do love Halloween,” he said. “We’re really going to bring the stories of Catfish Alley and former business owners to life, with character actors of some of the more influential figures and former Black residents. That evening’s truly going to highlight the rich cultural history of the alley.”
Saturday’s Catfish Alley event will also have live music to accompany the tours until it concludes at 9:30 p.m.
Downtown businesses will be holding their annual Christmas open house Friday and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
All events are free to attend, though the CVB does want those coming to the Victorian mourning party and Ghost Tales in Catfish Alley to RSVP at [email protected]
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