Back to the barn: Popular gift show returns

MOSES LAKE — The Piper Barn Show has returned after a 1-year hiatus and is doing better than ever.

Julie Phipps, director of the Piper Barn Show, said the opening day of the show had a record number of sales, with around 500 people turning out.

“Absolutely smoked,” Phipps said. “It was our best sales day ever.”

And there isn’t much time left to check it out this year. The final days of the Piper Barn Show are 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. today and 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday at 1508 Road S NE.

The show was started by her mother, who ran it for 15 years in the ’80s and ’90s. Phipps picked it back up nine years ago. This year is the eighth show in nine years because of COVID-19 restrictions last year. The show is at Phipps’ family farm and is called the Piper Barn Show after the family name.

Phipps said when her husband retired from the Air Force and they moved back to Moses Lake, she decided to start it again. When she did, she said she asked a group of her friends and women who she knew ran small businesses or made items to bring things to the show to sell. Since then, it has grown.

Phipps starts putting the show together months in advance. She said she starts contacting vendors in May, with registration information. This year, there are more than 65 vendors selling items in the show, including home decor, jewelry, clothing, children’s toys and quilts. Some are handmade and some are vintage.

Each vendor is required to work a four-hour shift at the show so customers have the chance to meet and interact with some of the people they are buying from.

Christina Cooper said this was the first time she was able to come out to the show. She decided it would be a great way to start new family traditions with her daughter and daughter-in-law, as it was her daughter-in- law’s first Christmas in Moses Lake and she wanted to show her some local events.

Phipps said one of her favorite parts of the show is seeing people she doesn’t normally get to see throughout the year, like perhaps Cooper.

If people work up an appetite, there are plenty of food options, as well. For the first time, there is a coffee truck outside. There is also a section of the barn run by Smulligan’s Pizza & BBQ, selling food, such as pulled pork sandwiches, chili, soup and cookies, among other things.

For more information, visit www.piperbarn.com.

Rebecca Pettingill can be reached via email at rpettingill@columbiabasinherald.com.