A new flea market featuring more than two dozen vendors, live music and food trucks is launched in Deer Park, with plans to become a recurring event on Long Island.
Hoarder’s Flea Market will be held at the Knights of Columbus field at 759 Long Island Ave., just off Deer Park Avenue. Admission is free. Hours are 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., with Saturday confirmed and Sunday scheduled weather permitting, according to the event website.
“We have about 25 registered vendors and possibly more that will show up the day of,” said founder Lisa Silla, a Shirley resident. “I’ve had an overwhelming response from people,” both buyers and sellers, she said.
Silla said the market could grow into a monthly fixture. In a retail landscape where chain stores continue to close, she sees flea markets as a way to offer in-person connections and hands-on shopping.
“I have a wonderful eclectic mix of vendors,” she said, listing jewelry, handmade goods, sports cards and comic books, new and vintage clothing, crystals and metaphysical products, antiques and collectibles, and services like insurance sales.
“It’s not a flea market where you just buy stuff,” she said. “I welcome everybody, all talents.”
Food vendors will include longtime Long Island staple Hot Dog Mike.
“There will be traditional sausage and peppers, hot dogs, hamburgers, drinks. There’s some music … and there is a playground with playhouses and swings,” Silla said.
The site can accommodate up to 100 vendors and offers ample parking. Silla said she views the location as ideal for expanding the market, with additional dates already scheduled for the weekend of May 31–June 1 and a Cars & Guitars event on July 13, all running from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Dates for August, September and October will be announced at a later date.
Though Silla works full-time as a tax accountant, her retail experience began in childhood.
“It was back in the ‘70s. I must have been about 9 years old and must have looked bored because my mother told me to set up two snack tables on the driveway. She handed me a couple of boxes of odds and ends and a roll of masking tape and said to price everything at 10 to 15 cents,” she said. She earned $27, which she called “a lot of money” for a child.
For the past 20 years, Silla has helped organize local events like yard sales and hopes that background will contribute to the flea market’s success.
“My heart and creativity is antiques and collectibles—that’s what I love, and I think a lot of people like that too,” she said.
Silla also plans to perform at the July event with her band, Saving Sanity. A musician who plays keyboards, guitar and sings, she said the group will debut original music.
For more information, visit www.hoardersfleamarket.com.