By Woodrow Polston
A line of vendors spent last Friday and Saturday morning setting up canopies and tables for the first monthly flea market at the Vandalia Area Fairgrounds. With a total of 11 vendors present on Saturday, there was a wide variety of products that were made available to the public. There were clothing items, dolls and action figures, tools and collector’s knives, books and homemade candy. Abigail Evans, who is a 9-year-old entrepreneur, said that she had a good weekend.
“I made $230 on Friday,” said Evans. “I have been selling freeze dried candy and the name of my store is “The Good Stuff.” I am going to keep selling all summer long, but I’m not sure what I will do with the money yet,” she added.
Other vendors who came from out of town were impressed with the amount of sales that the event had generated. Nick Pierce, who had come from St. Louis, said that the sales were good.
“Although there hasn’t been a huge amount of people, the sales have been steady. The people who are coming out are spending money and buying products,” said Pierce. Norman McFadden, who is an author from Lincoln County, Mo., said that he was glad to meet a few new fans.
“It was a good day and I am glad with the sales. I just love getting to meet new people and sign books for fans that enjoy my work,” said McFadden.
Several food vendors were serving burgers, fries, hot dogs, snacks and drinks. The FFA was on site selling pork burgers and ran out of food around noon on Saturday. Sid’s Snacks was there to take orders after the FFA had run out. Patricia Kraft, who took the initiative to get the flea market started, said that it was a good start and that it would continue on a monthly basis.
“It was good to see all the vendors here today,” said Kraft. “We had six vendors set up on Friday and 11 today. We have seen the majority of our traffic come through today and a lot of patrons leaving with merchandise. We are planning to keep it going on Friday’s and Saturday’s each month. We have had suggestions to have it on Friday’s from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. so that we can accommodate people who are getting off work in the evening. We cannot do those hours yet this year, but we would love to do so next year. All the feedback that I am hearing is that people think this was a very good experience for being the first one. Next month we are anticipating even more vendors than we had this month. It is generating a lot of excitement in the community, and there are a lot of people who are anxious to see new things taking place in Vandalia,” she added.
The next Flea Market will be held on Friday, July 22, and Saturday, July 23 from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Vandalia Area Fairgrounds. For more information about vendor space, contact gpk8930@aol.com or call 573-721-7511.