The Hillsborough Antiques + Art + Design Show lands on the San Francisco Peninsula once or twice a year, typically in autumn and winter, running across a Friday-to-Sunday long weekend with doors open from around 10:00 to 16:00 each day. Specific dates shift between editions, so checking the Dolphin Promotions website before planning travel is the smart move.

Dolphin Promotions organises vetted antiques and art fairs across the United States, and their Hillsborough show follows a consistent standard: selective vetting, quality presentation and an audience that turns up knowing what it wants. Around 100 dealers take part, drawn primarily from California and the wider western states, though some travel from further afield.

The merchandise spans roughly four centuries. Dealers bring furniture, fine art and decorative objects from the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, alongside modernist and vintage pieces from the 20th. That breadth is deliberate and useful. A collector focused on Georgian furniture can work methodically through the floor, while someone with a more open eye might stumble across a mid-century design object they hadn't planned to find. This is not a specialist single-period market — it rewards curiosity as much as precision.

Dealers at Dolphin Promotions fairs tend to arrive with stronger stock than they might bring to a general market weekend. The audience skews knowledgeable, and the vetting process means dealers invest accordingly. Conversations tend to be direct and substantive rather than transactional.

The San Mateo County Event Center gives the show space and credibility. The venue handles large-format exhibitions comfortably, with indoor halls that allow dealers to present furniture and larger works properly. Its position on the Peninsula places it within easy reach of San Francisco and the broader Bay Area, making it a viable day trip or a reason to build a short weekend around.

Interior designers sourcing across periods will find the range concentrated in a single venue over a single weekend — that efficiency is genuinely hard to replicate at a standard market. Collectors chasing a specific maker or period will find dealers who know their inventory in depth. The atmosphere rewards direct enquiry; this is the kind of show where asking a dealer to pull something from the back of the booth tends to get a considered response.

For public transport access, Hillsdale station sits approximately 500 metres away and serves train lines 1XX, 4XX, 5XX and 6XX, along with Weekend Pre-Game and Post-Game services. The Hillsdale Caltrain stop, roughly 300 metres away, is served by the CAM bus route. Hayward Park station, about a kilometre distant, offers additional train connections on lines 1XX and 6XX.