Here in Turlock, Tuesdays mean one thing, it's Flea Market day!
I have been going to the Flea Market for years now and by doing so, have created a lot of knowledge on this neighborhood market. There are good and bad days to go, but that all depends on the weather and the past weekend. For instance, if it rained over the weekend, then there were no other flea markets or yard sales, which then means there won't be a lot of new things for sale. But on the other hand, if the weekend was nice and sunny, then the following Tuesday should be a great day to come out and thrift some good finds!
Some of the best finds that I have recently found were at Maribel's booth on the first row facing Johnson Road. She sells an assortment of vintage clothes, toys, and paintings. She also does her own wood carving of mainly horror movies/characters so being October, perfect timing for Halloween. She said she's been doing this for years and looks to be coming back for years to come. Mari says that “I've been coming to the flea market since I was nine years old with my parents. They've been selling for the past 23 years and I've learned from my mom.”
A Turlock Staple
According to the Turlock Flea Market Website, they originally opened back in 1938. That's shy 16 years from turning 100! For a brief time, they were closed during 2020 and then reopened up a few months later in the year, but now with hand sanitizer dispensers and lots of vendors selling face masks. Since the pandemic has more or less calmed down, the Flea Market has been back but not fully to what it once was.
I've been coming here since I was in high school almost ten years ago and have seen the waves of good and bad Tuesdays. Since Covid, I would say that the number of vendors hasn't yet fully come back, but it is still better than most markets. “From one to ten, I would say this is maybe an eight…honestly, I would say the people here are the best part of the market”. Mari continued saying that “Everybody here knows each other and we're all pretty friendly. We all get along really well together, which is my favorite part of the Turlock Flea Market. Aside from finding cool stuff every now and then”.
Vintage Is In!
Some of the cool things that you can find out there are vintage clothes, jewelry, toys, collectibles, furniture, and more. There are some vendors that solely sell a type of product such as the guys that just sell records or vintage rugs, and there are other vendors that sell newer products such as phone cases and other electronics.
I've noticed that there are mainly two different types of vendors. With most flea markets, you have your new merchandise vendors and the “yard sale” style vendor. The first usually sticks with unopened newer products that they are selling (most are bulk purchases from Amazon returns or other stores that sell returned products. The second vendor sells used or open products and usually has their clothes either in piles on a table or on the ground. These are my favorite types of vendors because you have to dig and finding something cool becomes that much cooler because you have to work for it.
Being a collector of vintage skateboards and skate related stuff, I tend to find the best stuff in the bottom of the piles. Old Santa Cruz shirts, vintage Powell boards, even first gen OJ Wheels. You never know what you can find when you’re hunting.
Brand New Addition to the Community - Turlock Self Storage
Turlock Self Storage is a brand-new self storage facility in our community and with different size units, you can store a lot or a little but no matter the size, our state-of-the-art self-storage facility has what you need. As a result of attending the flea markets for years, I might be needing to get myself a personal unit for all my skateboards!
If you're interested in the Tuesday Turlock Flea Market, make sure to follow them on Instagram and swing by Tuesdays from 7am-2pm. They say on their website that they're open from 4am to 4pm but that’s mainly for vendors. Most are set up around 7am-8am and packed up around 2pm but the hotter the day the sooner they are packed up. Hope to see you there some time.
Turlock Sales Yard Flea Market
East Ave and S. Johnson Rd. Turlock, CA 95380
TurlockFleaMarket.com
(209) 667-4441
