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The Greater York Antiques Show and Sale benefits youth charities

John Hilton, FlipSide staff

Posted: 05/15/2012 05:14:10 PM EDT

Check out the Greater York Antiques Show and Sale this weekend. (FLIPSIDE JASON PLOTKIN )

It's that time of year when antique seekers are as plentiful as tree buds and pollen.

It's the chance to find that unrecognized Picasso, or that ultra-rare 1910 Honus Wagner baseball card hidden for decades inside a cigar box in the attic.

OK, so maybe the bar isn't set quite that high for most of us. But, for everyday antique seekers, just the chance to add to that rare typewriter collection, or to find a brass teapot for the mantle, is enough to keep attending far-flung shows.

Southcentral Pennsylvania is prime territory for antiquing, said Donna Burk of Burk Antique Shows. One of the bigger shows of the season, the Greater York Antiques Show and Sale at the York Expo Center, is this weekend.

"It's more than a hobby. For some people it's their lifestyle," Burk said. "I know one lady who travels to three or four shows a week. ... It gets in their blood."

The two-day York show has an Americana theme, Burk said. Items date from the late 1700s to the early 1950s; from furniture to commercial signs; from the finest of silver jewelry to "Tramp Art," a style of woodcarving in the United States from the late 1800s through the Great Depression.

In other words, the show has something for everyone. Burk said she is pleased when the entire family gets involved in antiquing because it bodes well for the future.

"It's nice to see the parents bring the younger ones along because they'll get used to it and be our next generation," she said.

As always, proceeds from the Burk event benefit the youth services programs of the YMCA of York and York County's Y's Men's Club, especially Camp Spirit, the YM's day camp.

This marks the 42nd year the antique show has benefited the charities.

"Those children need someplace to go in the summer," Burk said. "When you can help children out when they're young, they're going to be better adults."

- John Hilton,
FlipSide staff