Back when I first moved to Vancouver from Ottawa I had wanted to go to the flea market held at the Croatian Cultural Centre located at 3250 Commercial Drive in Vancouver. That was over a decade ago! I finally I checked it out by myself this weekend.
The Venue
It costs $5 to get into the flea market and there are quite a few large rooms packed with treasures.
The Products
Of course I had my eyes on kitchen treasures which there was a plethora of but also tons of jewelry and lots of antiques.
I am working on a nostalgic food memoire so I was looking for a particular vintage of kitchen goodies but as you can see with that green bowl being $45, this was more of a vintage and antiques show than a flea market.
Had to take this photograph because Reg’s Dad had a sock monkey just like this little guy!
I finally did find something that was totally out of the blue and on this table. Can you guess what it is?
There was lots of crystal and even this cool retro toaster!
Almost everything was out of my price range and a little too old but then I spotted some Blue Mountain Pottery which every Canadian home had when I was growing up.
I must mention the crowds are a bit crazy. Several times I got stuck between two tables and tried not to panic. I am not good with crowds. I finally picked up my last nostalgic treasure and headed for home.
It was the perfect day to get out into the long-forgotten Vancouver sunshine to do some treasure hunting.
My Treasures
If you guessed I bought The Housewives Tarot Deck, you would be right!
A tarot deck for $10 is a great deal, even when it is open.
I checked before I bought it and all 78 cards were there.
I have a real soft spot for artwork of housewives and seeing them in a tarot deck was so deliciously subversive!
I swear, I am going to study each and every one of these images. Oh how they already make me laugh!
I have been searching for a Blue Mountain Pottery mug but so far have no had an luck. I did discover this cream and sugar set and got them for only $10!
One still has the sticker on the bottom. They are going to work perfectly in my foodie memoire.
Conclusion
There are a ton of shopping opportunities at the flea market held at the Croatian Cultural Centre! Seriously, there is so much to see you could spend the entire day there. Well worth the $5, especially if you are looking for higher end collectibles. I found the $35 mixing bowls a little out of my price tag but for the collector, you have got to check it out.
I had a blast and am so glad I finally went and found treasures that will bring a ton of happiness into my kitchen.
Ten bucks for The Housewives Tarot was a STEAL! I hope you’ll feature some more cards in a post or two! And back in my university days, I had a nice piece or two of Blue Mountain pottery too! They were collectible even then, in an ironic way.
It really was! And OMG, those cards crack me up every day! I will feature them, for sure. They’re so funny. Yes, Blue Mountain Pottery has been around a while and is very collectible, it’s true. It’s nice to have the set. Takes me right back to growing up in Montreal.