Photo by Jesse Chambers.
Punk Rock Flea Market vendors Mariah Metcalfe and Brandon Nolen.
Punk Rock Flea Market events are growing in popularity and numbers all over the country, and Birmingham is no exception.
On Sunday, April 22, the Birmingham Punk Rock Flea Market will be making its first 2018 appearance at TrimTab Brewing Company for an afternoon of support for local artists and vintage vendors. The free event, which has happened four times since its start in early 2016, is open to all ages and community members.
“Every single time, I get to meet new artists, musicians and people involved in the community and then they get to meet each other,” said Raquel Duplin, local artist and founder of the Birmingham Punk Rock Flea Market.
From 1-5 p.m., vendors will be selling homemade art including records, zines and independent magazines, T-shirts, paintings, patches, homemade soap and skincare products, vintage movies, music and games and a variety of other obscure art in different forms. “We have a couple of returning vendors, but with all new merchandise for sale,” she said.
There will be between 30 and 60 vendors, depending on whether the day is sunny or rainy. Duplin said it only took two weeks for the vendor list to fill up to capacity this time. In all, the flea market has worked with more than 100 vendors and more than 20 local and touring bands.
“I try to change the location each time to feature local businesses. This will also be the first time we are using a band from another state,” Duplin said.
The live music lineup includes local bands The Old Paints, Static Screams and In Snow, in addition to Way No Bueno from Huntsville and Faux Ferocious from Nashville. Hero Doughnuts, Paradise Chow and Ono Ice will be there as food vendors. Music will be playing for the entire show, she said, and dogs are welcome to the event.
The event is sponsored by Birmingham Oddities, Left Hand Soap Co., Barbara Jean Sound Machine and Welcome to Monotonia. Dublin said she hopes to have two Punk Rock Flea Markets in total this year.
Dublin originally got the idea from an event she participated in while she lived in Pennsylvania, right before she moved to Birmingham and was looking for an outlet to sell her own art. “Not only is it a good way to promote yourself as an artist and collector, there’s a lot of people there that you could work with in the future,” she said.
Interested vendors should email bhamflea@gmail.com. For more information about the show, go to punkrockflea.com.
