If you’re looking for a place to find antiques, handmade jewelry, vinyl records and local food vendors, the 5th Street Vintage Market, taking place Sunday Sept. 13, might be just be what you’re looking for.
Curators Lorie Watts, Sylvia Parker and Jamie Cicatiello realized the need for a vintage-style market in Tuscaloosa about three years ago.
“The three of us had tossed around the idea for a while how larger cities have markets, not flea markets, and Tuscaloosa just didn’t have anything,” Watts said.
They also wanted to give buyers and sellers the chance to locally exchange goods.
“There were a lot of people who sold online but not locally,” Parker said. “We wanted to give them the opportunity to sell here locally and give people the opportunity to buy from them directly.”
After discovering the wide interest in establishing a market of this type, the three curators created 5th Street Vintage Market and received a warm response.
“We put it together and it just kind of took off,” Watts said. “It’s a lot of fun, and you never know what people are going to bring. We [the vendors] shop just as much as we sell.”
Among the items sold are be antiques, vinyl records, vintage clothing, décor handcrafted soaps, handmade jewelry, collectables and original artwork. Mary’s Cakes and Pies of Northport and Black Belt Bamboost will also be there to sell concessions. Customers can expect around 40 vendors total.
“It’s a fun and a one of a kind shopping experience to find artists and dealers under one roof for the afternoon,” Watts said. “Our vendors are what make the market, and they always bring really great stuff. We have a lot of out of town vendors that people would never know about.”
Curators encourage students to come out and enjoy a variety of goods and a shopping experience like no other.
“There are a lot of different kinds of shopping in one place,” said Parker. “It’s not the same thing as going to an antique mall. It’s more than that. It’s great deals on really good stuff that you can’t find in the mall.”
Come check out the market Sunday, Sept. 13 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., or at one of the other fall dates: Oct. 11, Nov. 1 and Dec. 6. All ages are welcome and admission is free. For more information, visit http://5thstreetvintagemarket.com/ or call 205-345-4763.
