Alameda Antique Faire - Part 1 :The Real Deal From A Beginner

 The Alameda Point Antique Faire happens the first Sunday of every month on what used to be the Alameda Naval Air Station.  The former landing strip provides a colossal space for the venue.  There are over 800 antique dealers, very impressive as flea markets go.  I've only been twice, but here are a few survival tips so you don't end up roaming the airstrip until the next one rolls around.

                                              

1.     For God's sake remember the lettered row where you park you car.  If you don't make a note of it, good luck to ya.  You'll have to hitch a ride home with a station wagon full of senior ladies antiquing from Petaluma.

2.      Get there before 9 and pay the extra $5 to park closer, not deal with droves of people, and be able to get the heck out of there when everyone else is just showing up.  I'm talking about 5,000 people (my worst nightmare!) 

3.    Try the food.  There are some seriously delicious food trucks that show up with organic, sustainable everything.  I love the Bay Area for this.  Anywhere else corn dogs would be the gourmet food of the day.

Ok, so with that out of the way let's talk about the "stuff" packed into this place.  I realize one man's trash is another man's treasure, or however that adage goes, but in my opinion there are definitely a boatload of vendors whose items could be classified as semi-junk that under no circumstance whatsoever should be placed on display in your house!  However, to be fair, it is worth it to walk the endless rows, keeping an eye out for an appealing booth that might have a hidden gem.  This takes time and is more exhausting than I imagined. 

 

 

Everyone has a different strategies to making order out of the flea market chaos.  I learned from a vendor who talked endlessly about her hip (ugh), that the specialized and more expensive dealers, the ones who really do well, have their booths in the front half.  The lower end, more eclectic dealers are in the back.  A girl on the way out to the parking lot told me she likes to start in the back early in the day so she can scour it for finds, I might try that next time.  I did the opposite and indulged in the more luxurious, French antiques and such in the first half of the lot while I was fresh, but lost all energy to even make it to the back. 

Another strategy I tried, which wasn't particularly successful, was to go with a set list of things I wanted to buy.  I never did find them, but ended up instead with things I probably could have done without.  (More about that on Wednesday). 

 Bottom line:  The Alameda Antique Faire is definitely worth going to as long as you get out of bed early and do it right.  I got to enjoy a gorgeous, sunny day looking out at the Bay Bridge, surrounded by vintage things and was home by 11:45 to enjoy the new additions to my apartment and even got to take a nap.  You can't beat that!   

For all the info you need go to the Alameda Antique Faire Website:
www.alamedapointantiquesfaire.com