We can’t imagine a more fun way to spend a Saturday than hitting the road with friends to visit a rural field scattered with tents and treasures, or bopping around the vendors at an urban pop-up market, iced coffee in hand. The list of vintage and maker events below is as varied as the wares for sale. Some festivals are rooted in one place; some are traveling affairs; many happen outdoors; but a few are indoors too. What do they share? A devotion to all things chippy, salvaged, shabby chic, and handmade. Here are our favorite flea and vintage markets, junk fests, and maker fairs, selected for their excellent promotion, organization, visitor experience, and vendor curation.
Junkstock
Waterloo, Nebraska
Junkstock is the grandmama of modern vintage fests. Founded by a local junker, Sara Alexander, the event touts itself as the first fair in the country to take on a festival spirit, mixing a curated flea market with live music and food vendors. Held on an old horse farm west of Omaha over two consecutive spring weekends (late April and early May), and again on two weekends in the fall (mid-October), Junkstock is a true bonanza, consistently name-dropped as one of the best shows of its kind in the country. There are some 250 vendors, plus excellent infrastructure, including more than 20 food trucks, themed photo ops, a children’s area, an ATM, and a live stage with continuous programming—to say nothing of the show’s famous bloody Marys and hardworking crew of JunkHunks to haul large items.
Pro Tip: Bring cash! While a few larger fests like Junkstock have ATMs, and many vendors accept credit cards or electronic payments such as Venmo or Apple Pay, there are still many sellers that are cash-only (and some markets only take cash at the door for tickets).
Good Makers Market
Tipton, Iowa
Conveniently held between Iowa City and the Quad Cities, the twice-annual Good Makers Market touts itself as eastern Iowa’s hippest market—and it has groovy branding to match. Every detail of this ticketed event feels considered, from the mod entrance gate (a striking A-frame!) and setting (quaint white barn decked with string lights!) to the above-par food trucks (wood-fired pizza!) and animals greeters (llamas!). And that’s to say nothing of the vendors, a super well-curated roster spanning candles, leather goods, wall art, and more. The spring show happens in late May, the autumn edition in late August. And insider intel—there’s a little goodie for the first 100 visitors at each.
Pro Tip: The Good Makers Market welcomes dogs, as do many other festivals on this list—but not all markets do. Always check the event’s FAQ page before heading out, and be sure to bring baggies to clean up after your pet.
Chandelier Barn Market
Washington, Indiana
Dennis and Lisa Wilson hosted their first Chandelier Barn Market in 2014, hanging (you guessed it) an antique chandelier in a barn on their family farm and inviting people to come browse vintage and handmade goods. What started as a simple gathering quickly grew into one of the region’s most anticipated shopping events. The event exploded in popularity and is now held three times per year (early May, early September, and early November). Shop their store year round or come to their charming market at the Davies County 4H Grounds at Eastside Park. Their market includes food trucks and more than a hundred hand-picked makers that sell antiques, custom designs, vintage decor, jewelry, painted furniture, signage, clothing, and more…