Finney County Museum Hosting Scaled Back Flea Market Festival July 11th
Finney County Historical Society
The Finney County Historical Museum’s 11th Annual Flea Market Festival in Garden City is still going to take place for 2020, but it will be extensively reduced in size as a pandemic precaution, with social distancing practices in place for the benefit of the public.
The gathering has drawn crowds of more than 4,500 people in recent years, with up to 50 visiting vendor booths spread out inside Lee Richardson zoo, coupled with a large sale of donated goods on the museum’s patio and in the adjacent Mary Regan Conference Room. This year, the event will take place without the visiting vendors due to concerns about mass gatherings, but the sale of donated goods will continue.
The sale is scheduled from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. July 11, and the shopping space will be expanded south from the patio with temporary fencing in order to safely space out merchandise tables. Hand sanitizer will be accessible at the gate and six-foot spacing will be arranged at the outdoor payment table. Face masks will be welcome but not required, and free masks will be offered to shoppers at the entrance.
Admission is free and cash or checks will be accepted for purchases. Entry is through the pedestrian arches at the zoo. The festival is supported by the Finney County Convention and Visitors Bureau.
The total sale space will cover nearly 5,000 square feet and the gently-used and thoroughly-cleaned goods will range from brassware, ceramics, Christmas decorations, collector plates, clocks, cookbooks, cookware, cups, electronics, dishes, fabric, figurines and furniture to games, garden items, glassware, home décor, lamps, luggage, office items and picture frames. There will also be stuffed animals, tins, tools, toys, utensils, vases, vinyl record albums and various other items
In addition, the sale will feature a large selection of Coca-Cola and McDonald’s collectibles, ranging from plates, cups, tumbler sets, trays, signs, playing cards, thermometers, cookie jars, magnets and metal containers to lunch pails, lamps, banks, hats and caps, Frisbees, puzzles, car tags, fishing rods, telephones and stuffed Coca-Cola polar bears.
While food won’t be on sale this year, water and soft drinks will be available for purchase. Exhibits inside the museum will be open 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., though the Historic William Fulton House will be closed.
The festival takes place as a fund-raising event to support museum exhibits and other work of the Finney County Historical Society. Organizers hope to bring back the full-scale gathering with visiting vendors in 2021.
