It’s been a half a century since the Holliston Scholarship Foundation began its biggest fundraiser, back when it was the Citizen’s Scholarship Foundation in 1967. (In 2013, the group broke away from the National Organization Dollars for Scholars, which it had begun with in 1964, to become the Holliston Scholarship Foundation, a 501 c3.) This year’s event will take place on Saturday and Sunday, February 25 and 26, from 10 a.m.- 5 p.m. on Saturday and 11 a.m. – 5 p.m. on Sunday. No early birds, please. Admission is $7 (although Holliston residents will receive a $1 coupon with their fundraising letter), and all proceeds fund scholarships to Holliston students.
“A group of businessmen and civic leaders in Holliston sat down in 1964 and decided to start the Holliston branch. They gave out maybe $700-800 dollars, and they had little fundraisers,” says Bob McGrath. “They began their biggest fundraiser in 1967, the Holliston Antique Show, and I think they had 15-20 antique dealers. They had it in a smaller location.”
Nowadays, that antique show boasts about 100 dealers from many locations around New England, and the dealers spread out at the Holliston High School gymnasium. Visitors will find a wide variety of high quality antiques, including furniture, paintings, carnival glass, and comic books.
“It brings in a lot of people from outside of Holliston,” says McGrath. The dealers come from all over New England, and people who come to it come from all around, which I think is significant to Holliston. That’s what I like about the antique show. A lot of out-of-towners who are pulled to the antique show will go to the stores downtown.”
The event is always held the last weekend of February, says McGrath, with the busiest time Saturday morning, which sees about 70% of patrons.
“It’s the biggest antique show around here and really kicks off the antique season, at very end of February,” says McGrath. Booths sell out just about every year, although poor weather can prevent many of the dealers, some advanced in age, from coming out.
The Holliston Scholarship Foundation splits the cost of the event with the promoter, once all expenses are deducted.
“There is a lot of advertisement in antique magazines and journals, for antique dealers in the area,” says McGrath. In addition, the scholarship foundation sends out its annual letter a few weeks ahead of the sale to Holliston residents, and inside the letter is a $1 discount coupon for admission to the antique show.
The Holliston Scholarship Foundation supports students from Holliston. Last year, they supported seniors from Holliston High School and Keefe Tech with a total of $62,000 in scholarships. (Due to 10-12 renewable scholarships, that total will grow to $65,000 to $70,000, says McGrath.)
College sophomores, juniors and seniors received $15,000 this past year as well.
Many of the scholarships managed by the Holliston Scholarship Foundation are memorial scholarships. This year, a new scholarship in the name of Elizabeth Stillings Brooks will be given. A resident of the town for over 27 years, “Beth” was an active member of the Holliston community along with her husband, Bob, and the loving parents of three Holliston High School graduates (Megan, 2008, Katie, 2011 and Jack, 2017). Beth worked in publishing, and the scholarship will help a graduating Holliston high school senor who is interested in English and writing, says McGrath.
Another new scholarship added this year, says McGrath, is one by the local theatre group, the Washington Street Players. This group will actually hold a cabaret fundraiser at Anthony’s on the Green on February 4th to raise funds for this scholarship.
For more information on the Holliston Scholarship Foundation, or to volunteer, visit www.hollistonscholarshipfoundation.org, or mail correspondence or donations to
Holliston Scholarship Foundation
PO Box 6786
Holliston MA 01746 US