By Sarah Pugh

It’s 7:25 on a chilly Sunday morning in December. You’d think this would be a good time to be snuggled up in bed while someone else gets you a coffee, but a sizeable crowd of people outside the Edelweiss Club in James Bay disagree. They are quietly but eagerly waiting for the doors to open on the weekly Greater Victoria Community Flea Market, all of them anticipating the one-in-a-million find, the rare addition to their particular collection of memorabilia, or the perfect gift for the aunt who has everything.

Thanks to some deft organizing, entry to the Edelweiss Club hall is civilized, and the serious buying and selling gets underway with a minimum of noise and fuss out of respect to the Club’s residential neighbours.

By noon the scene has calmed somewhat, but the Flea Market is still a bustling place. The Edelweiss Club does good business with the pastries, sausages and coffee at the concession, and people are relaxing and chatting – but still avidly buying and selling.

More than a month after its abrupt eviction from the Tillicum Bingo Hall, Flea Market organizer Brad Myers maintains that the move has gone smoothly and the market is starting to get back into the swing of things. He adds that the Edelweiss Club welcomed the Flea Market with open arms, doing a wonderful job of making some necessary additions to the hall to improve the lighting. The six-week trial period ended successfully in early December, and the flea market is now a permanent fixture at the Edelweiss Club.

The move hasn’t been without its downside. The new hall measures half the size of the previous location, accommodating only half the vendors and necessitating a waiting list for vendors. Some vendors expressed concern over the lack of space, the increased vendor fees, and the reduced number of patrons – although these sentiments were expressed on a day when there was a competing antiques exhibition in Sidney.

Most of the vendors at the new location have been with the flea market for a long time, and some of them are sad at the loss of the bingo hall. “I just can’t get oriented,” explained one vendor. “It’s not the same.” Even so, she remains optimistic about the future of the market. “Brad’s done a lot of work.” Vendors routinely praise the Edelweiss Club for being helpful and obliging.

Another vendor says that while the increased vendor fees mean some people aren’t breaking even yet, her table profits each time, and it is still early days for the market’s new location.

Other vendors love the new location without reservation – especially Wally Lee, a long-time James Bay resident and even longer-time flea market vendor. “I’m quite delighted,” he beams from behind his table of mixed antiques and collectibles. He thinks the new location will enable the Flea Market to attract some of the cruise ship passengers looking for an alternative to the generic tourist shops downtown, and possibly some of the horse-drawn carriage trade also. Lee also praises the Edelweiss Club. “They set up and take down,” he explains, and he feels that the Flea Market vendors are getting good value for their fees.

Customers at the market are thrilled by the range of products available. The Flea Market boasts an eclectic blend of jewellery, art, musical instruments, fabrics and textiles, clothing, books, memorabilia and much more. Jim Whyte, a collector who drove in all the way from Metchosin, likes the new space. “It seems to fit.” He wanders with the contented air of a man who fulfilled his objective, and confirmed that indeed he found a piece today for his collection of hunting memorabilia - and a delicous stollen.

The long-term success of the Flea Market remains to be seen, but with the move coming at a good time to catch the busy Christmas season, and with a good reception from the neighbourhood, vendors and customers, the Flea Market seems poised to be become a James Bay staple.

The Greater Victoria Community Flea Market is open Sundays, 7:30 am to 1 pm, at the Edelweiss Club at the west end of Niagara St.