DETOUR
Cool
Hunting,
Cheap
Thrills
Flea markets are a stylish
haggler’s shopping dream—
and the best part is everything’s
recycled | BY CHRISTENE BARBERICH
For many, trolling flea markets and garage sales is as much
a summertime institution as lemonade and skinny-dipping.
For others, this communal, anything-goes pastime is more
competitive sport than leisure activity. Whether you’re a
haggler-in-training, a seasoned collector or just someone out to stumble
upon something bizarre, exceptional and one-of-a-kind, America’s flea
markets represent the ultimate mecca of time-travel shopping. From
sprawling parking-lot gatherings to serious out-and-out antiques fairs,
we’ve gathered up our favorite secondhand stop-and-shops along the
Northeast Corridor.
MASSACHUSETTS
The Brimfield Antiques Show
Auction Acres, Route 20, Brimfield, Mass.; 413-245-3436;
jandj-brimfield.com
Summer schedule: July 13-14 and Sept. 7-8
Known as the granddaddy of Northeast flea markets,
the Brimfield Antiques Show was started by Gordon Reid
in 1959 under the name Gordon Reid’s Famous Flea Market. Reid’s modest outdoor market has grown considerably,
and his two daughters, Judy Mathieu and Jill Lukesh, later
formed J & J Promotions, which now produces this annual
extravaganza. Serious collectors as well as weekend road-trippers make the pilgrimage to Brimfield every summer
to peruse plenty of prime antiques, collectibles and uncommon treasures. “We have hundreds of exhibitors and
