MONROE - The Green County Fair Association is seeking vendors for a new flea market the organization hopes will keep the summer fair tradition afloat.
Dates are June 8-9 and Sept. 7-8 for the Green County Picker's Antique and Flea Market. Proceeds from a $2 entrance fee, plus vendor fees that range from $30 to $50, will go toward the county fair's operation.
"A lot of fairs are struggling right now with attendance," said fair board member Virgil Leopold. "Hopefully we can keep our fair in the black and keep going for a long, long time."
The plan is to start small, with a longterm goal of attracting 400-plus vendors.
This year, said organizer Susan Konopacki, "we're hoping to get up to 100." About 25 vendors have signed up so far. "We really need the community's help to get vendors."
She and other organizers came up with the idea for a flea market while brainstorming ways to raise funds for the fair. The aim is to draw visitors into the area and capitalize on the popularity of thrifting, as seen on such television shows as "American Pickers," "Junk Gypsies" and "Flea Market Flip."
"This is a very opportune time," Konopacki said. "I'm an avid flea marketer myself. So we thought, why don't we give it a try?"
She wants to have a variety of merchandise at the market - crafts, antiques, vintage collectibles, plants, home party items like candles and Tupperware, and what she describes as "funky junque."
Three vintage collectors already signed up for the flea market were out Tuesday stocking up on goodies to sell.
Linda Vetterli, Monroe, and her friends Jim and Roberta Delp, Darlington, spent the day thrifting in Janesville and then returned to Monroe to unwind. They've vended for years at a biannual flea market in Pecatonica, Ill., which is a benefit for the Winnebago County Fair.
"Their fair profits from it," Roberta Delp said. She and Vetterli specialize in vintage glassware, china, figurines and linen. Her husband collects and sells vintage sports memorabilia and collectible toys.
Vetterli calls thrifting the "ultimate recycling."
"It is recycling at its finest," she said.
It isn't just the physical object getting reused. The memories the stuff carries live on and find new life in a new home. Vetterli hears stories from customers all the time: "This is just like my grandmother's" or "I had this as a kid."
For the guys who collect the baseball cards and other sports memorabilia Jim Delp sells, they're reliving their childhood.
"The cost of it doesn't really make any difference. It's the memories that come from it that make a difference," he said.
Of course, sometimes discovering the monetary value is a thrill for collectors. Vetterli recalls digging out five rolls of old black and silver crepe paper from a box she found abandoned as trash after an auction. The crepe paper was in its original packaging, each with a price tag for 19 cents.
She ended up selling the rolls for $55.
The Delps and Vetterli are seeing a shift in trends at flea markets. Depression-era glassware is cooling, and vintage Tupperware is suddenly hot. More people are buying vintage stuff to actually use, not just look at.
They agree the flea market could be great a fundraiser for the Green County Fair. It may be a tough in the beginning until it catches on, Jim Delp said, but "I think this area can support it."
Vetterli is so enthusiastic she carries flyers in her car, to pass out wherever she goes.
Dates are June 8-9 and Sept. 7-8 for the Green County Picker's Antique and Flea Market. Proceeds from a $2 entrance fee, plus vendor fees that range from $30 to $50, will go toward the county fair's operation.
"A lot of fairs are struggling right now with attendance," said fair board member Virgil Leopold. "Hopefully we can keep our fair in the black and keep going for a long, long time."
The plan is to start small, with a longterm goal of attracting 400-plus vendors.
This year, said organizer Susan Konopacki, "we're hoping to get up to 100." About 25 vendors have signed up so far. "We really need the community's help to get vendors."
She and other organizers came up with the idea for a flea market while brainstorming ways to raise funds for the fair. The aim is to draw visitors into the area and capitalize on the popularity of thrifting, as seen on such television shows as "American Pickers," "Junk Gypsies" and "Flea Market Flip."
"This is a very opportune time," Konopacki said. "I'm an avid flea marketer myself. So we thought, why don't we give it a try?"
She wants to have a variety of merchandise at the market - crafts, antiques, vintage collectibles, plants, home party items like candles and Tupperware, and what she describes as "funky junque."
Three vintage collectors already signed up for the flea market were out Tuesday stocking up on goodies to sell.
Linda Vetterli, Monroe, and her friends Jim and Roberta Delp, Darlington, spent the day thrifting in Janesville and then returned to Monroe to unwind. They've vended for years at a biannual flea market in Pecatonica, Ill., which is a benefit for the Winnebago County Fair.
"Their fair profits from it," Roberta Delp said. She and Vetterli specialize in vintage glassware, china, figurines and linen. Her husband collects and sells vintage sports memorabilia and collectible toys.
Vetterli calls thrifting the "ultimate recycling."
"It is recycling at its finest," she said.
It isn't just the physical object getting reused. The memories the stuff carries live on and find new life in a new home. Vetterli hears stories from customers all the time: "This is just like my grandmother's" or "I had this as a kid."
For the guys who collect the baseball cards and other sports memorabilia Jim Delp sells, they're reliving their childhood.
"The cost of it doesn't really make any difference. It's the memories that come from it that make a difference," he said.
Of course, sometimes discovering the monetary value is a thrill for collectors. Vetterli recalls digging out five rolls of old black and silver crepe paper from a box she found abandoned as trash after an auction. The crepe paper was in its original packaging, each with a price tag for 19 cents.
She ended up selling the rolls for $55.
The Delps and Vetterli are seeing a shift in trends at flea markets. Depression-era glassware is cooling, and vintage Tupperware is suddenly hot. More people are buying vintage stuff to actually use, not just look at.
They agree the flea market could be great a fundraiser for the Green County Fair. It may be a tough in the beginning until it catches on, Jim Delp said, but "I think this area can support it."
Vetterli is so enthusiastic she carries flyers in her car, to pass out wherever she goes.