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Cord Shows Ltd started in 1970 when it produced its first event, a fund-raiser for The Westchester Dance Council in the suburbs of NYC. Vivien Cord, President of Cord Shows Ltd., began her working career at age twenty, after extensive training in ballet and modern dance, by opening The Progressive School of Dance in Mamaroneck, NY.  At the same time she and a couple of friends enjoyed selling antiques at shows with promoters such as Cary Allen, Paul Weld, Russell Carrell and Diane Wendy, under the name of Windfall Antiques.  Vivien was a Board Member of the Westchester Dance Council, which at the time needed to raise money. Using her experience in the antiques field and an inborn ability to organize, she and her good friend Billy Fitzgerald, (fellow antiques dealer), decided to join forces.  In 1970 they produced their first show at the Hudson River Chateau in Yonkers, NY, under the name of Cord and Fitzgerald. That show was followed by a major success at the Hudson River Museum. This was accomplished with the help of Vivien's former husband Bill, while their two sons, Kenneth and Curtis, participated as porters. The List of Things To Do and Pack, drawn up in 1970, remains in use today with a few modifications and many additions.

After 15 years the dance school was discontinued to make time for a growing list of shows. Billy moved on to open a flower shop in Mahopac, NY. Bill moved on in 1991, remaining a friend, and in 1993 Ed McClure and Vivien became a working team and life partners. Their annual calendar of shows, which once numbered in the thirties, now lists fewer than ten and is easier to manage. The Art/Crafts events have been replaced by two Vintage Clothing shows and Cord Shows continues to ride a wave of popularity. Vivien and Ed owe this to their loyal dealers, customers and to their niche of shows, which are manageable in size and fun to visit and participate in. Vivien and Ed aim to keep the atmosphere as stress free as possible for their dealers by making every effort to see that things run smoothly and professionally.  A Cord Show offers furniture and decorative objects that are affordable in today's market. Vivien likes to say that their shows are colorful and not all brown (referring to period dark furniture). The locations and facilities selected by Vivien have the dealers' comfort and ease of access in mind and they must be fun to visit and easy to find. Their directional street signs, all handmade by Ed, are not always the prettiest but they are legible and reliable and receive many compliments. At the present time Cord Shows can be found in Tarrytown, Katonah, Cross River, Patterson and South Salem, NY; North Stamford, Old Greenwich, and Danbury, CT.

Cord Shows Ltd. is a Charter Member of the Professional Show Managers Association (PSMA) and Vivien has been on the Board of Directors since it's inception. Merchandise selling at their shows is guaranteed by their dealers as to age, condition and authenticity (to the best of the dealer's ability). The aim of Cord Shows Ltd. is to keep all reproductions and new merchandise out of their shows and they are working hard towards this end.


Most shows are held as benefits for non-profit organizations. Some of the past and future beneficiaries include:

Helping Hands for the Homeless and Hungry, Rye, NY
The Northern Westchester Shelter for Battered Women
Center Lane
Food-PATCH
The New Milford, CT, Chamber of Commerce
The Westchester County Department of Parks for Friends of Parks
The Lasdon Glass House Fund
The Elting Memorial Library in New Paltz, NY
The Stevens Memorial United Methodist Church in S. Salem, NY
Friends of Karen
The American Legion, Katonah, NY
Piermont Business Council, Piermont, NY
Historic Lyndhurst. Tarrytown, NY
Tuckahoe Beautification, Tuckahoe, NY
Danbury Museum and Historical Society
John Jay High School PTO
Patterson Recreation Center
Danbury PAL
Howard Jennings Dollars for Scholars Foundation