I can’t think of many things I love more than flea markets. I’ve been told I’ve got a good eye for treasure in the mounds of junk, which is probably true – it takes effort to see a thing that could be awesome in a different context. There are many flea market calendars out there, but I find they seem to leave some off sometimes. So what’s going on this weekend?

Saturday

Santa Monica Art + Antique Fair

2510 Lincoln Blvd
Santa Monica, CA
map it
website: http://johnmuirptafair.org/
Hours: First Saturday of the month, 8am – 3pm

• There is a parking lot at the high school where the fair is, and there are usually spaces if you get there early enough. Neighborhood parking is not permit, but usually very crowded. There are also meters along Lincoln Boulevard.
• The entry fee is $1, until people start packing up around 2.
• The nearest ATM is diagonally across the street at Albertson’s (Bank of America), or grab a cup of “coffee” at their Starbucks – you can get up to $100 cash back.
• This is a good market for furniture, vintage dresses, glassware, and other household oddities. Prices are more than reasonable and I often find myself forgetting to haggle.

sunday

Pasadena City College

1570 E. Colorado Blvd.
Pasadena, CA
map it
website: http://www.pasadena.edu/fleamarket/
Hours: First Sunday of the month, 8am – 3pm

• There is no entry fee for this market.
• This will be my first PCC excursion, so I can’t really offer any first hand tips or advice, but I’ve heard that this market is better in terms of size and price than the Rose Bowl, so I’m eager to check it out (thanks, Bri).
• There is reportedly free parking at the parking garage on Del Mar Blvd. or on the east side of campus at the Bonnie Avenue parking lot.

Santa Monica Outdoor Antique Market

Santa Monica Airport
Santa Monica, CA
map it
Hours: First and last Sunday of the month, 8am – 3pm

• While the parking is free here (if there are no other events going on at the airport), the admission is unnecessarily pricey and complicated: it can run anywhere from $3 (seniors, or admission with flyer from another month’s market) to $8 (regular last Sunday admission). I’ve also heard that the first Sunday’s admission is $4, while the last Sunday’s admission is $7, unless you get there between 6am and 8am, when it’s $8. I don’t remember what I’ve actually paid to get in, but it was probably too much.
• Don’t expect to find a lot of bargains here. Some of the same vendors were at the high school the day before, and their prices rise for this high-end market. Still, it’s a market with good stuff, and if you can’t make it out to Pasadena and you’ve got the itch, it’ll do.

Fairfax Flea Market (Melrose Trading Post)

Fairfax and Melrose
Los Angeles, CA
map it
Hours: Every Sunday, 9am – 5pm

• Admission is $2 ($1 for students): “The Melrose Trading Post is the most successful ongoing fund-raiser in the history of the Los Angeles Unified School District!”
• Because I’m so deeply entrenched in the west side, I’ve never been here. But here is a fabulous account of this market, from Losanjealous – a must-read.

Well, that about does it for what I know about – what have I missed? Do you know of anything thrifty going on this weekend?

This entry was posted on Friday, January 4th, 2008 at 12:34 pm and is filed under Antiques. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.