The Chiltern Antique Fair opened on Friday in the town’s memorial hall.

A fixture for more than 20 years, the event attracts exhibitors from South Australia, Tumut, Geelong, Melbourne and regional Victoria.

“They come from all over the place,” co-ordinator Erika Hansen said.

 “We’ve got furniture, jewellery, chinaware and other collectables.”

“It’s really interesting the stuff that people collect, it takes them hours to unwrap and hours to rewrap.”

For Melbourne exhibitors Carol and Robert Dennis, the weekend has an added social focus.

“We have friends in Chiltern,” Mrs Dennis said.

“It’s an annual get-together as well.”

The couple began collecting Chinese antiques when living in that country before branching out into other items, such as antique guns and furniture.

Mrs Dennis said the Chiltern fair always brought in a good crowd.

“It’s a real country town, but it’s quite busy, we have a lot of people through the door,” she said. “They come year after year, they continue to visit the fair, which is quite rewarding really for the organisers.”  

The Chiltern Antique Fair is open Saturday 10am to 5pm and Sunday 10am to 4pm at the Chiltern Memorial hall, Conness Street, Chiltern.