NORMAL - Becky Ansher loves looking at antiques, and this weekend's Top of the Class Antiques Show & Sale didn't disappoint her.

"It's fabulous," said Ansher of Normal. "I love it."

She said the show, at the Brown Ballroom at Illinois State University Bone Student Center, offered a lot more variety than similar shows and antique malls. She saw an antique gun muzzle loader and Fostoria glass pieces she hadn't seen before.

Gretchen Fagin of Bloomington also was impressed.

"It's beautiful; very well done," said Fagin, who recently moved with her husband from Pennsylvania to Bloomington. "But the prices are sticker shock in comparison to the East Coast."

Fagin was looking for a small wooden table. She found plenty, but didn't purchase any.

Doug Jennings, associate director of the ISU School of Communications and coordinator of the show, said it attracted 30 vendors this year.

"We're real happy," he said, despite the fact that the total was down from the previous two years. "It's a nice full room."

Jennings said it's "incredibly challenging" to find quality vendors. Many longtime vendors are aging and it's harder to find antiques than it used to be, he said.

The show, a fund-raiser for the ISU School of Communications and WGLT radio, still manages to bring in about $5,000 to $9,000 each year, he said. The money is used for student equipment needs - often updating computers in the computer lab that is used by the 750 undergraduates and 100 graduate students.

Jennings admitted the show offers a chance for antique shoppers to find higher-end merchandise.

"A lot of people walk in and say, 'Wow,'" he said. "I think that people are used to flea markets, and they want something a little more high-end or to find something nicer."

Judy Poultney of Normal found that true.

"I think that this is a very fancy antique show," she said. "I'm used to the Third Sunday Market, and the antiques here are more expensive but of a higher quality. I'm not planning on getting anything, but I do like to look."

Tony and Stacy Merritt of Bloomington were on a hunt for dressers and bookcases but hadn't found anything.

"Actually, it's a lot smaller than we thought it would be," Stacy Merritt said. "There is a lot of glassware and ceramics, but not a lot of furniture."

Lynn Rehberger of Highland was one of those vendors offering glassware, as well as a variety of other antiques.

"The crowds have been good," she said of this year's show. "There are a lot of knowledgeable buyers. They know what they're looking at and looking for."

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Antiques show

What: Top of the Class Antiques Show & Sale

When: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. today

Where: Brown Ballroom, Illinois State University Bone Student Center, Normal

Cost: $5