SYDNEY, N.S. — Sadness was a common theme among customers and vendors Sunday at what could be the last Bargain Hunters Flea Market in Sydney.
After 40 years of weekly flea markets, which started at the Sydney Shopping Centre in 1979, owner George Peters said he is closing because he can't find an appropriate location.
The Bargain Hunters Flea Market had been moving locations over the past few years, after being unable to continue using the Joan Harriss Cruise Pavilion during the winter. They set up shop inside the former Schwartz building on Vulcan Avenue then moved to the Centennial Arena after the sale and demolition of the building.
However, the flea market is unable to continue at the Centennial Arena due to other events booked and lack of heat in the building during the winter.
Peters, 77, said he's not giving up.
"We're still knocking on doors. We're still not giving up," he said. "It's not so much about us making money, it's about the vendors."
Family affair
For Rae Prusick and Calvin Warren, who've been vendors at the flea market for 38 years, the sadness isn't about lost revenue.
"It's a family affair," said 79-year-old Prusick. "It's a social thing as much as a way to make a bit of money. Well miss our friends the most."
Prusick sells a lot of her own homemade crafts and jewelry while Warren sells CDs of his own music, karaoke songs and country music. The only time the couple missed setting up booths at the flea market, which has been in 16 communities in Atlantic Canada, was four years ago when Warren, 86, was recovering from a heart attack.
"They're all our friends. Not just the vendors but also the buyers you meet. There's one lady, from Calgary, who comes back every year to buy my slippers," Prusick said.
"It's sad," said Warren, adding that flea market Sundays "are a day out to meet all your friends."
In between customers, Warren dances to his CDs while Prusick sells some knit dishcloths and jokes with other vendors and customers like Carol Keough from Sydney who would go to the market a couple of times a year.
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