Renninger’s Extravaganza November Recap

We’re sharing our Renninger’s Extravaganza November recap today!

Last Friday, my Mom and I set out for the quaint little town of Mount Dora. If you’ve never been there you should definitely check it out because it could easily be on a list of Florida’s hidden treasures.

They have great restaurants, activities on Lake Dora, lots of antique shops, and Renninger’s Antique Mall and Flea Market.

Renninger’s hosts an outdoor event called the Renninger’s Extravaganza where hundreds of vendors and thousands of people shop the fields for treasures.

The extravaganza is only held three times a year (January, February, and November) and it’s worth every bit of the long drive from my house.

It’s so much fun we rarely miss an event.

After visiting an estate sale on Thursday, my Mom and I realized we needed to get to the Renninger’s Extravaganza as early as possible. In the past, we’ve definitely underestimated the crowd size.

We headed out just after 5 am and sure enough by the time we got to Renningers they were already parking people in the far fields, an hour and a half before the event was even scheduled to open.

Thankfully, they let people in early so we quickly paid our entry fee of $10 (parking is free) and hurried through the gates.

The very first vendor was unpacking ironstone tureens and teapots so we made a beeline for her booth. Like many other vendors we spoke to that day, she had to close her shop because of the pandemic and was in the process of liquidating as many items as possible.

It was actually sad and kind of eye-opening the number of vendors that shared they had a hard time finding things to bring this year.

As always, it pays to be nice to the vendors because most of them offer discounted prices for bundled items. Some of them even let you leave your purchases at their booth so you don’t have to lug them around the fields.

This can be especially great if you’re carrying heavy items like architectural salvage pieces, scales, china, transferware, and ironstone.

For the most part, it helps to bring a sturdy bag or cart along to hold your finds. A lot of people bring collapsible carts with them and I’ve seen people pulling kids-sized wagons there too.

Truthfully, you never know what you’re going to find.

We saw everything from a $5.00 basket to pieces of furniture that were priced into the thousands.

If you see something you like you should scoop it up immediately because a lot of people shop events like these. We could not get over the number of people that were at the Renninger’s Extravaganza this year. As my Mom would say, “You couldn’t stir them with a stick!”

In the past, most of the vendors would stage their booths which was always fun because you can get some fantastic vignette ideas.

This year though, a lot of the vendors had their booths set up yard sale style.

Thankfully a good number of vendors are in the same spot at each Renningers’s Extravaganza event which makes it nice. It’s always fun to visit their booths year after year to see all the new treasures they have for sale.

As always, if you go to outdoor events like this one comfortable shoes and clothes are a must.

Various food and drink vendors with everything from cider and donuts to barbeque and tacos are set up around the main aisle so you won’t go hungry or thirsty.

Also, the lady that runs the sandwich shop inside Renninger’s makes an amazing chicken salad on a croissant!

While we didn’t leave with a car full of treasures, my Mom and I both came home with some cool pieces at good prices.

I loved digging through all the vintage ornaments and you know I was crazy for these pink chairs too!

I’ll share all the things we found at the estate sale and what we brought home from Renningers in a future post.

For now though, if you know someone who loves antiques and vintage treasures, consider getting them an extra special and unique gift from an outdoor event like this one!

Many blessings,

CoCo