Thousands of bargain hunters attend St. Regis Flea Market
Vendors travel from near and far to attend the St. Regis Flea Market over Memorial Weekend. Don and Rodelie Ross come from Missoula each year to sell jewelry and yard art.
Members of St. Regis 4-H raise funds every year selling Italian Sodas and display racks in St. Regis over Memorial Weekend often labelled Montana’s largest Flea Market.
Up to 4,000 people attend the three-day annual flea market held in St. Regis with nearly 200 vendors.
Hal Payne traveled from Santa, Idaho to sell his cement birds and koi fish ornaments at the St. Regis Flea Market.
Greg, from Somers, Montana, opted for a sign instead of a booth, to draw attention to his hobby of collecting old radios at the St. Regis Flea Market on Saturday.
Once again people descended on the St. Regis Community Park to enjoy three days of bargain hunting as the Annual St. Regis Flea Market went into full swing. This event, called Montana’s largest flea market, brings in approximately four thousand people, said one of the coordinators, Anita Bailey.
There were 174 vendors this year, filling up 212 spaces at the park. With hundreds of items of every shape and size available for people to shift through down long tent corridors. Tasty gourmet sauces and foods; outdoor furniture and ornaments; both used and new clothing; jewelry; old CD’s and VHS tapes; and even pony rides, bouncy rides and gem hunting available for the kids.
This community event requires hours of work by local volunteers headed by Community Council President, John Cheesman. People travel from all over the northwest to attend. Hal Payne was there selling birds and koi fish made out of cement. He was from Santa, Idaho located near St. Mary’s and this was his first time attending this show. One of his customers was from Huson and said she comes down almost every year, “it’s fun and gives me something to do on these rainy days.”
The weather was overcast and it had rained the night before. Dennis La Celle said he and his wife, Lorna, had come up from near Boise, Idaho and stayed the night in the campground. “The thunderstorms last night were wonderful,” he said. They also thought a bear had wandered through their canopy over the night. The couple was selling gourmet olive and balsamic oils and the smell is strong, he said.
Other vendors didn’t travel as far, Don and Rodelie Ross of “D & R Creations” traveled from Missoula. They sold jewelry and “unique yard art” with giant turtles and ants made out of river rock.
“We come down every year, and love it,” Don said. “We always do really well here.”
The St. Regis 4-H club also had a booth selling Italian Sodas and stands for retail stores, “we’ve already made $200,” said Macy Hill after just a few hours into the event on Saturday.
The big money-maker for the flea market is the food concessions followed by the vendor fees which costs $90 for the three days. Funds raised are used for a variety of community projects and activities including the local park, the preservation and restoration of historical building sites, promoting national holidays and scholarships for graduating high school seniors.