The Big Sandy Mountaineer -

Virgelle's Annual Flea Market took place on Sunday, with area antique shoppers visiting the outdoor event to shop for treasures old and new. My children and I braved the 90 degree heat to make our traditional after-church trek to the Virgelle Mercantile to shop and enjoy lunch on the lawn.

As in years past, Chandee Bomgardner's food truck served Indian tacos and sandwiches to visitors. Waiting in line, I listened as visitors to the area received impromptu lessons on fry bread cuisine and the other local favorites Chandee specializes in serving from her food truck.

I spoke with Don Sorenson, who owns and operates the Mercantile. He explained that the vendor participation was similar to what has taken place in past years. One vendor, who has participated in the Flea Market for 6 years, commented that the traffic was down a bit from previous years. "I'd say the traffic is a little smaller. It's just so hot today; I'd say people aren't coming out."

Don remarked that restrictions for travel across the border unavoidably affected the customer base. "I'd like to see the borders opened up, because we have a lot of Canadian customers. And they used to come to flea market. We have a lot of customers in Alberta. If they can't come, it impacts things."

The outdoor flea market was one of the few local events that went on last year despite the Covid lockdowns. Don Mackintosh, who operates Mud Lake Metal Works commented: "Last year, the only show we did was the Virgelle show. Last year was a good year." Much of the turnout seems to be attributable to the lack of entertainment and shopping opportunities. Don explained the decision to run the event during Covid restrictions: "It's an outdoor event, not an indoor event. We asked everyone to wear masks and everybody distanced themselves. We spread the dealers out a little further, so it worked well."

Don explains that the sale is important to their business, though mainly for exposing the Mercantile and the Bed and Breakfast to new potential customers. "Well, it's important to our business. I have more competition, because I have all the vendors in the yard. I have a better chance of selling if it's just me. So, it's kinda foolish to do this. However, it brings people here who have never ever been here before. That's why I have to wear a name tag. People say: 'Go talk to Don.'"

The Flea Market and the Christmas sale are the two largest events on the Mercantile's business calendar. Last year, the Christmas sale was cancelled due to the Covid restrictions. They are planning to do the sale this year. The antique market and the bed and breakfast represent significant income for the business. Both experienced a slow down as a result of the travel restrictions last year. Fortunately, the business has seen an uptick in traffic through the bed and breakfast and the store. "It was very slow last year. We almost didn't survive. Nobody traveled. This year is a different story. We've been very busy with our bed and breakfast. We have 14 days in a row where it was almost back to back to back to back.