CHADDS FORD, PA - Thirty-two outstanding antique dealers from across the nation will be featured at the 29th Annual Brandywine River Museum Antiques Show and Sale on Memorial Day weekend. Hosted by the Museum Volunteers, the event presents a variety of American and English furniture, glass, metalware, ceramics, folk art, quilts, rugs, Oriental and European porcelain, and other fine collectibles.

The Antiques Show and Sale, sponsored by FIRSTUSA, runs Saturday through Monday, May 27 to May 29, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission is $6 per person. All proceeds benefit the Brandywine River Museum Volunteers' Art Purchase Fund. Antiques are displayed in the Museum Courtyard, the second and third floor galleries, and the Museum Lecture Room.

Newly featured this year are Cinnamon Hill Antiques from Nashville, Tennessee, who exhibits American 18th and 19th century furniture, interiors and accessories; Davis O'Reilly Antiques of Northport, Alabama, who features antique tall clocks, fine art and furnishings; and Michael Regan of Greensboro, North Carolina, who exhibits items from William & Mary to early Federal, and accessories including early lighting and Chinese export porcelain.

To compliment the Antiques Show and Sale, the museum presents a special exhibition, Whittled Whimsies: An American Pastime. Continuing through August 13, this exhibition includes over 100 folk carvings from the charmingly simple to the finely intricate. Items in this exhibition are lent by collectors Jamie and Sandy Ciardelli.

On Friday, May 26, a special preview party of the Antiques Show and Sale will be held from 6 to 9 p.m. Tickets are $75 per person ($35 tax deductible) in advance and at the door. No credit cards, please. The ticket price includes valet parking, cocktails, hors d'oeuvres, music and show admission. Please call (610) 388-8318 for tickets.

And on Saturday, May 27, Jamie and Sandy Ciardelli will share their collecting experiences and knowledge of folk carving in an informal lecture and guided tour of the whittled whimsies exhibition. In addition to the lecture, Rick Ladd of Brooklyn, New York, will demonstrate various whittling techniques. The lecture will begin at 9:30 a.m., following a continental breakfast in the Museum restaurant at 9 a.m. The price of the lecture, breakfast and admission to the Antiques Show is $15 per person. Again, please call (610) 388-8318 for tickets.

The Brandywine River Museum is located on US Route 1 in Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania. The museum is open daily, 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., except Christmas Day. Admission is $5 for adults; $2.50 for seniors and students; free for children under 6 and members. For more information, call (610) 388-2700.

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