In terms of local San Francisco demography, Giants fans together with those who planned to attend the San Francisco Fall Antiques Show takes in pretty near everybody in town. There may be one or two asleep in doorways along Market Street who are generally indifferent, but I wouldn’t make book on that, either.
Of those handful of people in the western hemisphere who did not watch Brian Wilson throw the final strike in Saturday night’s game, a majority of those few might have been antiques dealers scheduled to participate in the fall show tortured as they were by the prospect of the Giants going to the World Series. As it happens, Game One exactly conflicts with the gala opening of the San Francisco Fall Antiques Show. Will the World Series affect attendance at the gala? Well, what do you think?
Star crossed seems to describe the significant West Coast fairs this year, with the Los Angeles Antiques Show this past April affected by the 7 mile high ash plume of an Icelandic volcano- remember all of this?- that delayed flights by days, and consequently delayed some European dealers and their stock in trade from setting up in time for the gala. It was a near thing, but in the end, everyone got there, got set up for the balance of the show, and at least one of them- Elliot Lee from London- had a stellar show. As the sportscasters say, perhaps with more color, it isn’t over until it’s over.
So with the San Francisco Fall Antiques Show. No question, strong attendance while not promising a strong show, certainly improves the odds. That said, the World Series will affect most prominently the gala preview- there will still be plenty of non-game time during the succeeding four days of the show’s run for anyone to attend the show that wants to. Anyone can say what they want, but significant sales during the preview are as unusual as Tim Lincecum with short hair. The preview is first and foremost a benefit for the sponsoring charity- the dealers’ show stands provides an elegant backdrop for what is, ultimately, a party. Mind you, the San Francisco Fall Antiques Show and its benefit charity, Enterprise for High School Students put on to my mind the best of the best when it comes to parties.
Still, the Giants in the World Series is the big news and Keith and I can barely stay seated, excited as we are to watch Game One, planning to close early on Wednesday to get home to watch on TV. For those of my loyal cadre of readers who know how venal we are, this amounts to a rare, albeit ecstatic, level of commitment. And who knows? The Giants aren’t the only team in the series, and we are liberal minded- our galleries, and the San Francisco Fall Antiques Show, will happily welcome Texas Rangers fans.