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NORM SCHAUT PLANS
‘THE HAPPIEST SHOW ON EARTH’
That magic is going to happen again!
The founder of ‘Atlantique City’, once the largest indoor antique and collectibles fair in the world, will restore and restage that great event as the ‘Fun Fair of Fine Collectibles’ on October 9 and 10 in the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center. This new facility is conveniently located 14 miles west of center city and surrounded with 5,000 free parking spaces. Pipe and draped booths, with stanchion dividers and dealer identification signage will be available for as little as $175.
In March of 1986, when Norman Schaut’s megashow opened its doors on the boardwalk for the first time, NEW YORKER MAGAZINE quipped, “The lines of people waiting to buy tickets looked like the entire adult population of the United States.”
“The ultimate triumph of the big idea” was the description by REUTERS LONDON and THE SAN FRANCISCO EXAMINER stated, “This enormous show is well worth the trip.” Bill Kent reported in THE NEW YORK TIMES that the fair packed the Miss America Auditorium, Exhibition Center and Grand Ballroom with 1200 dealers from 17 countries and 50,000 enthusiasts attended twice a year.
‘Atlantique City’ quickly grew to 10 ½ acres under the management and advertising expertise of a marketing genius whose first job after receiving his degree in journalism was as a publicist with Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey, The Greatest Show On Earth, where his hands were full with a new herd of baby elephants.
“After the circus struck its tents in 1956 and the big show moved indoors, all of the excitement for me was gone. No more sawdust, no more wonderful animal smells in the menagerie top. I even missed the rain and mud. A circus belongs under the blue canopy of Heaven with flags flying from the center poles,” the former press agent reminisces.
Next came motion picture promotion for United Artists, Paramount and Columbia followed by a lengthy career on Madison Avenue with two of New York’s largest and most prestigious advertising agencies, Benton & Bowles and The William Esty Company.
The creation and promotion of the largest indoor antique and collectibles fair in the world 24 years ago was a logical progression for Schaut who always thinks bigger than life.
“Every job I’ve ever had was much more fun than working,” he smiles. “Much more fun. And that’s certainly true with our upcoming production of ‘The Happiest Show On Earth.’
“With the non-compete clause in the ‘Atlantique City’ contract behind us, collectors losing confidence in the photos and item descriptions from unknown ebay sellers plus the growing number of dealers who refuse to accept returns from dissatisfied buyers, this is the right time to introduce a new show much like ours was in the early years.
“We explored the Atlantic City Convention Center as well as the Trump properties and found them much too expensive for an event of this nature,” Schaut explains. “I considered AC but realized that space and labor costs would not permit us to offer a pipe & draped booth for under $200 and generate sufficient money to sustain the massive advertising campaign which will be required to motivate collectors to drive or fly long distances when they can shop the internet at home.
We also factored in the off-season population of greater Atlantic City at 39,000 while over 6,000,000 greater Philadelphians can practically walk to the new Expo Center.
“At this point in the world economy, when everyone is feeling the pinch, we are able to offer booths, display cases, accommodations and tickets at very affordable prices. To say that the reception in this country and overseas has been enthusiastic would be quite an understatement.”
The new ‘Fun Fair’ will be positioned as ‘The Happiest Show On Earth’ and promoted with the same marketing plan that launched ‘Atlantique City’ and continued its growth for the first 15 years. Schaut’s aggressive, ten month campaign includes television, radio, newspapers, magazines, trade papers and direct mail plus the collector’s club program and innovative internet usage. Exhibitor interviews during the Friday set-up as well as live coverage on Saturday are expected to be greater than ever since the media no longer has to travel 65 miles.
This show will be known as the fun place to invest your fun money in fun things…schmooze with friends…talk the talk with the world’s foremost dealers…get personal and immediate answers to your questions…hold that special treasure in your hands…and add to your collection with absolute confidence.
A unique video-active website funfaircollectibles.com is being designed by a studio animation artist and will present streaming photos of merchandise offered at the upcoming event. Viewers just click on an image to freeze the frame, enlarge the picture and display the dealer’s name with booth number.
To ensure that Friday, the drive-in and set-up day, is restored to the most important buying and selling opportunity of the year for exhibitors, floor rights and extra badges are not available; booth sharing and reproductions will never be permitted.
The October dates, as well as the first Spring show on April 17 and 18, 2011 were suggested by two of Schaut’s original exhibitors, David Pressland of Great Britain and Germany’s Uwe Heintze. These weekends connect with two of the largest collector events in the world; the Antique Automobile Club of America national meet in Hershey, which ends on the Friday before the new fair, and the semiannual Train Collectors Association activities that begin in York immediately after the fair.
Over 200,000 avid collectors attend these gatherings in eastern Pennsylvania and Schaut, who is a lifetime member of both, plans to attract them through their club journals.
Contracts are being sent to fine antique and vintage collectible dealers who feature one or more of the following categories: American, British and European toys, trains, dolls & bears, folk art, holidays, advertising, coin-op, banks, Americana, doorstops, country store, Disneyana, pedal cars, circus & carnival, mechanical music, soda fountain, amusement park, ephemera, movies, TV, original comic art. posters, miniatures,
theater, kitchen, robots and railroadiana,
The specialties go on and on; automobilia, juke boxes, postcards, music, Coca Cola, slot machines, air, land & sea travel, marbles, casino & gaming, magic, breweriana, figural napkin rings, political, sports, music, erotica, ocean liner, aviation, marbles, gold and silver age comics, rock ‘n roll, pop culture, action figures, games, sport & celebrity autographs, the jewelry and watch galleria and much more. Other categories will be added by exhibitor request and committee approval as the year progresses.
Settled in a porch rocker overlooking the Ocean City surf with a tiny dachshund, Wiener Philharmoniker curled on his lap, Norman Schaut contemplates the enormity of his new venture, the hours of airport screening around the world and confesses to JoAnne, “I just can’t run a two ring circus.”
Call toll-free 800-822-4112 or email info@funfaircollectibles.com for a Collector’s Courtesy Pack including early entry ticket order form, map, discount accommodations and special aitfares. The Exhibitor’s Kit also contains the show contract. Seaview Show Management Inc., P O Box 1700, Ocean City, NJ USA 08226. .
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