|
Volume CXXXIII, Number 4 |
 |
Treasures await at flea market
SEAN O'HARA
Staff Writer
Looking for the interesting, unique, and weird? Want somewhere
to go in this little Brunswick town, someplace new in walking distance,
yet still worth a visit? Can't seem to find that one thing to spruce up
your room, or searching for a lost and out-of-print book, CD, video game,
comic book, or movie? Do you like swords? If you said "yes"
to any of the above, you might just want to take this Saturday or Sunday
off and visit the Brunswick Waterfront Flea Market.
The flea market is located in Fort Andross, the large brick building that
sits next to the Androscoggin river bridge, on the other side of US Route
1 from town. Though a bike would help, it is not too far of a walk.
The flea market is not unlike a giant, weekly garage sale.
Tables are set up in a huge, open room, with each proprietor bringing
a wide array of the second-hand, the antique, the rare and the interesting.
Each seller sets his own prices, and buyers are welcome to browse and
haggle at their will.
The flea market is a great place for treasure-seekers and
those searching for something unique or cool. What's on sale here has
accumulated in the collected attics, basements, and bookshelves of the
Brunswick area, and it will put any strip mall to shame in a variety of
items. There are entire shelves filled with dime-store westerns and schlocky
airport novels, alongside rare first editions and crumbling books of scholarly
criticism. There are piles of bargain basement and prematurely out-of-print
videos, and CDs from both one-hit wonders and quality groups that fell
through the cracks. Of course, there is the random house detritus collected
from generations of creepy old women, classic comic books and tabloids
from the 1960's, an entire table filled with unused LPs, collectable action
figures, statuettes, trading cards, jewelry… almost anything imaginable.
There is even display of real, live swords, for those who still need the
most important bit of their Conan the Barbarian Halloween costume. Just
don't expect the college to be too happy about you carrying it around
with you to your classes!
You're probably asking yourself right about now: "What
good is all that crap?" If you are, you need only to open your eyes
and think of all the little marvels that can be found amidst the junk.
Flea markets are some of the best places to find interesting and rare
stuff, at obscenely low prices. Why go through Ebay or some overpriced
"novelty" shop when you can find the same things within walking
distance?
And, best of all, there is none of the impersonality of
retail stores. Dan St.-Pierre, a retired seller whose stand includes watches,
old paperbacks, Nintendo games and videos, puts it the following way:
"You see all kind of people here… young and old, rich and poor.
You get to meet all kinds of new people, and, as the buyer, you can actually
haggle when you buy. It's the personal interaction that makes it great."
Possibly the best metaphor for the market comes from the
place itself. An unattended table is stacked high with VHS tapes in unmarked
sleeves. A sign reads "Videos- $1 each. I do not know what is on
them." What wonders one may find!
The Waterfront Flea Market is located at 14 Maine Street, open Saturdays and Sundays year-round, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. To contact, call 207-729-0378.