A warm and sunny late September Sunday ended up being the perfect day for a little adventure. I'm a sucker for trashy outdoor sales adventures, so this had my name written ALL over it. Flea market meets carnival meets street hawkers: Yesterday I got to experience the mayhem and magic that is Blackbushe Market. I have to admit, I've been to a lot of outdoor selling/buying events, but nothing quite like this. From a distance, it looks like a county fair; flags marking food trailers selling questionable burgers and endless deep fried eats, children's games and rides towering above the crowds, and colorful tents in long winding rows. But step inside, and nothing is quite as it seems.
The auctioning was the first thing that caught my eye. It's the first time I've had the pleasure of witnessing anything quite like it: a butcher standing above a crowd, shouting out cuts of meat and loading them into a plastic bag, then selling it off to the highest bidder. Same thing was happening at the fruit & vegetable stands, too! What a way to buy the week's groceries... I'd be lying if I didn't say that I was a teensy bit temped to get involved.
I began to get a little discouraged when the first few stalls greeted us with nothing more than cheap handbags and dollar store knick knacks. But between the endless rows of useless and cheap clothes, bedding, plastic odds and ends, and knockoffs, I have to say that I was really surprised at how many of the vendors really exceeded expectations. All in all, it took about an hour to walk around and see everything. Homemade fudge (I had to have samples of everything, obviously), a Chinese food stand where I FINALLY was able to find and buy sriracha and hot chili oil over here, a greek olive stand that helped me get my weekly fix of my favorite snack, and a great booth selling all kinds of vintage coats (including a 70's green suede one that's still on my mind).
As long as the weather holds out, this is definitely somewhere I'll be returning to occasionally in the months ahead.
