Brighten up a gloomy weekend by visiting a button show — yes, a button show. Bet you didn’t know that folks collect buttons like they collect stamps, postcards, coins, and matchbooks. But I venture that buttons are prettier than any of these. You can choose Victorian black glass buttons, or metal picture buttons (think Aesop’s fables), or uniform buttons, or china buttons, or plastic buttons, or celluloid buttons, or horn, or ivory, or …. any of dozens of categories.

Some cost a lot of money, some don’t, but all are fun to look at.

Today (Saturday, September 10, 9 to 4 p.m.) the New Jersey Button Society puts its best buttons forward in a show in Titusville (at the Union Firehouse, 1396 River Road, at the intersection of Route 29 and Park Lake Avenue, Titusville 08560). Admission $2.

What will you see? At 1:30 a glassblowing demonstration is scheduled, subject to the weather of course. The chief attraction however is cards and cards and cards of buttons. Dealers from all over the East Coast set up their tables and button-eers peruse their wares, looking for just the right button to add to their collection — or to enter in the next contest. (Image courtesy of the National Button Society.)

Winners of the contests will be on display at 1:30 p.m. Among the contests — Alternative Energy: buttons that picture windmills, water mills, and the sun. Who said that button collecting was old fashioned?

It’s a little tricky to get there, because Route 29 (River road) is flooded in parts, so take Exit 3 at Scotch Road, then turn left on 546, and right on Route 29. Pass It’s Nuts (it’s a restaurant) and a stand of trees and the Union Firehouse will be on your right.

Escape from 10th anniversary broadcasts and travel back in history, through the history of buttons. I’ll see you there!