MM_070617

12 | July 6, 2017 | The Mokena Messenger news
mokenamessenger.com
The Main Park attraction
Outdoor flea market
draws crowds to
Mokena park
Megann Horstead
Freelance Reporter
After the cancellation of
the outdoor flea market in
May due to forecasts of rain
and poor ground conditions,
the Mokena Community
Park District drew crowds
to the event held June 25.
“I think there’s a good
variety of different vendors
here that not everyone’s
selling antiques and everyone’s
selling baby clothes,”
said Rebecca Phetteplace,
recreation supervisor of
special events for Mokena
Community Park District.
“There’s something for everyone.
There’s new things,
there’s old things, things
that kids will like, things
that adults will like.”
A number of people
dropped in to explore the
various offerings from vendors
this time around.
“We usually get a pretty
good crowd,” Phetteplace
said. “We usually fill up
our vendor spots. [There’s]
sometimes a waitlist for it,
and that’s over 150 spots.”
Rich Rosen, of Mokena,
Three sister (left to right) Brianna, Charlotte and Veronica
Reynolds shop at vendor Tom Miller’s table.
ran a booth full of collectibles
that he was hoping to
sell.
“I get more people who
look at [the coins and sports
cards] than anything else
I’ve got,” he said. “There
are more people collecting
coins and sports cards than,
say, Beanie Babies.”
From the collectibles he
mentioned to rare forms of
currency, he collected the
items he brought over many
years.
“There’s a paper quarter
from 1864,” he said. “That’s
the oldest paper money I
have.”
Rosen said he did not
Cathy Wikert (left) and her friend Keri Johnson check out Ken Keebler’s items from
Daddy’s Garage during the Mokena Community Park District’s outdoor flea market June 25
at Main Park. Photos by Julie McMann/22nd Century Media
Nancy and Dave Boughton and their pup, Miss Minnie, show off their merchandise during
the flea market.
bring out his best coin,
though.
“My best coin I have is a
silver dollar that’s [worth]
$25,000,” he said.
The reason he decided to
set up a booth at the outdoor
flea market is simple, Rosen
said.
“I’m retired, I’m 71,” he
said. “To me, this is fun. It
gets me out of the house.”
Liz Emmick, of New
Lenox, said she was enjoying
the outdoor flea market.
She said she didn’t know
what to expect when she
dropped in.
“[I heard about it] through
a friend,” she said.
The booths had a nice
variety of older and newer
items, Emmick said and she
said she did not necessarily
come in search of anything
in particular.
“[I’m] just kind of looking
for something to do over
the weekend,” she said.
The outdoor flea market
has a way of drawing people
in, Phetteplace said.
“A lot of it is the same
people keep coming back,”
she said. “I know people get
down about it being rained
out. It’s unfortunate, but a
lot of the same people keep
coming back to the flea
market.”
“We got a lot of new people
this year, too, so it’s a
good mix,” she added.
Phetteplace credited the
event’s ability to bring in
new people to good promotion.
“I think a lot of it is word
of mouth,” she said. “A lot
of people seem to bring
their friends with them to
come sell.”
The outdoor flea market
does a wonderful job of
bringing the community together,
Phetteplace said.
“It’s something that’s
not going to the mall, it’s
something where you get
to be outdoors and still doing
something that everyone
could enjoy easily,” she
said. “There’s [also] space
for kids to play here if their
parents are shopping.”
The next outdoor flea
market of the summer season
is to be held July 23.