Antiquing is for lovers, so celebrate this Valentine’s with an extra special trip for two to the Urban Market Houston Antique Show, where love will be in the air Saturday and Sunday at The Bayou City Event Center.

“A lot of couples come dressed up to go out afterward,” Jackie Sharbrough, owner of the now three-times-yearly event, says, especially of Saturday’s “Early Buying” offer of $25 per person with a first opportunity to shop while enjoying wine and hors d’oeuvres. “You see a lot of people walking around hand-in-hand, leisurely moving from tent to tent.

"It’s a very nice way to start an afternoon together and then move easily into evening plans.”

Saturday hours are 3 to 6 p.m., with the “Early Buying” admission covering entrance on Sunday as well, when the show is open 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. All tickets can be purchased at the gate, where visitors receive wristbands. Sunday-only entry is $8 per adult; children are admitted for free.

Sharbrough initiated the Saturday pre-shopping affair about a year and a half ago after dealers requested a second day of running for the antique fair — just another major indication of the ever-growing popularity for what began in about 2005 as a designers’ sidewalk sale in the Heights.

“Two ladies started it and had so much fun,” Sharbrough says. “Stores along 19th Street joined in until the show had to be moved to the site of the old Sons of Hermann Lodge. There were probably about 20-25 businesses participating then.”

That’s where Sharbrough, also an antiques dealer working out of Antiques & Interiors on Dunlavy, became a regular — and a few years later, the owner of Urban Market Houston Antique Show.

A company bought the lodge property and the location was not available. The founding ladies sent out emails saying the show had become more of a job than a joy and they were discontinuing the antique market.

“I emailed back letting them know I’d be happy to run the show for them,” Sharbrough remembers. “And they emailed me, saying 'We’ll sell it to you.’ ” So the rights to the name and the entire mailing list become Sharbrough’s in 2008.

A New Life for Antiques

Sharbrough moved the antique show twice afterward, first to a field just west of the Heights, which was a lovely venue on Houston’s glorious days or a muddy mess on our not-so-glorious ones, to an empty city block at Smith and Elgin. The asphalt didn’t accommodate the snuggling golden retrievers from Golden Beginnings Golden Retriever Rescue, who had become show meeters-and-greeters (while being available for adoption). And then, the lot went up for sale and sold.

Sharbrough came through once again, though, and in December 2011 secured use of the Bayou City Event Center, a new 57,310-square-foot event/meeting space located south of Loop 610 off Almeda Road.

“The center has a beautiful pavilion. We’re so excited,” Sharbrough says of the location. “We’re keeping the show outside with some dealers operating in the open-air pavilion. The big white tents we’ve always used will be there for the majority of them. There’s a connecting parking lot for free parking, clean, new bathrooms rather than Port-o-Potties, a grassy area for pets (well-mannered and on a leash) and a commercial-grade kitchen, which our food vendors are delighted about.”

Wander from tent to tent to find a broad range of items for sale, from shabby chic to French to contemporary to industrial. Some 75 dealers from across the county welcome you to their al fresco showrooms, including Susan Skinner and Hector Vasquez of Fund Industrial, who are known to bring vintage plane parts repurposed into tables and lamps; Linda and Ludmil Marcov of Willow Nest Farm with handmade works from linens and laces; Cheryl Schulke and Paul Forde of Stash Co., hand-designed, cut and stitched ladies’ handbags assembled on antique industrial sewing machines in an old mattress warehouse; Rebecca Looten of Monsoon Imports, gorgeous textiles and pottery from India; and Jon Goodling and Vikki Vines of Gallery Auctions with a huge electric inventory.

Porters are on site during the sale to help you load your car. Or, the official mover of the Urban Market, Point2Point Moving Company, will schedule a delivery when it's convenient for you.

Shoppers won’t go hungry, either, with vendors such as Mary Lou and Daniel Marks of The Savory Chefs serving gumbo, salad and sandwiches at great prices; Janice Schindeler of Words & Food selling her award-winning pimento cheese sandwiches and tubs of it to-go; Mickey Morales and his gourmet coffees and Italian sodas; artisan breads, rolls and croissants from Angela’s Oven; and preserves and other freshly canned delights from The Great San Saba River Pecan Co.

Pink Ribbons Project representatives will be selling tickets to the 2012 Pink Ribbon House tour set for the weekends of April 27 and May 4, when the project showcases the home built to "raise the roof" for breast cancer research at the Lester and Sue Smith Breast Cancer Center at Baylor College of Medicine.

“There’s really something for everyone,” Sharbrough says. “We have families strolling babies, children playing, dogs. And we keep the show small enough that it’s easy to get around but large enough for people of all economic backgrounds to find something to take home.

“It’s an intimate gathering. And we like it that way.”