Wapakoneta Antique and Specialty Shops, or WASS, is a group of shop owners in Wapakoneta, Ohio, who meet monthly to organize events and promote their shops and their town. They’ve been doing this for nearly twenty years. Shop owner Landa Tomlinson says, "I don’t believe Casa Chic would be doing as well as we are without WASS."

WASS members pay a small monthly fee that is used in advertising and to help pay for a billboard on I-75. Shops have come and gone, but many of the shops have been members since the beginning of the organization. The Bookmark, the bookstore in town, is the longest active member.

The variety shops all benefit from their association with WASS. The largest in physical plant is the Auglaize Antique Mall. Next to them is Relics, a shop with vintage "funky junk’ and retro clothing. Cloud Nine, the coffee shop is in the same block. Across the street, you’ll find Casa Chic with two floors of home and garden décor and a pickers’ basement. Next door is Fern Hill Farm House with a big city feel, and Thrifty Treasures sells Annie Slone Chalk Paint and painted furniture. Also on Auglaize Street, Riverside Art Center is open to the public with art displays and art for sale. Further up the street is Gild the Lily, a beautiful shop with antiques, collectibles, vintage clothing, and decorative accessories.

Marley’s Downtown on Main Street is open evenings for dinner. Village Green is a floral shop and WASS’ newest member is The Peddler Shoppe on North Street that specializes in home décor.

The downtown has thrived with the help of the WASS organization that works in conjunction with both the Downtown Wapakoneta Partnership and the Wapakoneta Area Chamber of Commerce. The organization sponsors a street sale during the Summer Moon Festival the third weekend in July, and has artisans and crafters along with a Farmers’ Market and Sidewalk Sales on Auglaize Street. WASS and the entire community celebrate Derby Day by wearing derby hats on the first Saturday in May. New this year is the after hours Wapak Wine Walk.

WASS sponsored a Vintage Wedding Gala April 5^th suggesting how to create cake displays, vintage wedding dresses and beautiful weddings with a vintage feel, as well as a seminar on how to find furniture pieces to make into candy counters. In October the entire town becomes an "Orange Light District" during the Chamber of Commerce’s Halloween Parade the third Thursday of the month. October is really a fun time to visit Wapakoneta, but WASS’ biggest event is their Holiday Open House, the first weekend in November.

There are always lots of fun and things to do in Wapakoneta, because the shops work well together and do not see others as a threat, but as a complement, making Wapakoneta a destination for shopping and spending a day at the varied specialty shops in town.