There will be three major changes.
First, rather than being held at German Village’s Third Street Plaza, which the event quickly outgrew, it will happen nearby at the city’s new Marcum Park, said Lauren Smallwood, who co-founded the event with her husband, Ty Smallwood.
“Much to our surprise, we quickly outgrew that spot — we weren’t anticipating that to happen within the first year,” Lauren Smallwood said. As the season moved on, the event extended another block to accommodate it.
“This year, Marcum Park will allow us to keep a lot of the same vibe, but obviously it will be a bigger location that will be easier for us to accommodate all of our (approximately 40) vendors, and all of our patrons,” she said. Proximity to the Municipal Brew Works micro-brewery “is obviously a great thing,” she added.
Second, the hours will be tweaked slightly. The event will operate for the same number of hours, but in response to customer requests, it will start an hour earlier, running from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
“We found that a lot of patrons were pretty eager to get there earlier,” she said.
Third, a different non-profit local organization will be highlighted at each event, with volunteers offering information about what they do and asking for donations.
Vendors apply and are reviewed by Hamilton Flea’s six-member executive board, which reviews the vendors for quality of products, their price range, and a variety of offerings. There is some rotation of vendors from month to month.
“We consider ourselves a little bit different from a traditional craft show, and we try to accommodate a variety of inventors, makers and creators,” she said.
Applications for vendors and food trucks, as well as other information, are open now and can be found at www.hamiltonflea.org.
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