The San Juan Bautista downtown antique faire is going on as
planned on Sunday, despite its show promoter abandoning the project
less than two weeks before the event was scheduled to take
place.
The San Juan Bautista downtown antique faire is going on as planned on Sunday, despite its show promoter abandoning the project less than two weeks before the event was scheduled to take place.
The local Rotary Club decided to take control of the event because of the group’s 20-person manpower and the inability of the San Juan Bautista Chamber of Commerce to plan it, said Andrew Shelton, Rotary Club president.
The previous organizer agreed to run the event back in January but dropped out after claiming its inability to get enough vendors to offset the event’s cost. In the events’ 47-year history, the San Juan Bautista Service Club and Chamber of Commerce have run it.
But this year because of “structural reorganization and personnel issues” the San Juan Bautista Chamber of Commerce decided to contract out the events promoter.
After the promoter backed out on July 21, the Rotary Club was asked to take over and, after a 10-minute discussion, its leadership agreed, Shelton said.
Because of the late notice, the Rotary Club doesn’t expect to make any money from the event – instead, it just hopes to break even.
“We are just trying to cover our cost,” he said. “Honestly, we are just trying to make it to Sunday.”
The club already has attracted more than 50 booths for the event and still is looking for volunteers to control the crowd Sunday, Shelton said. Those who want to volunteer are asked to meet at 6 p.m. Wednesday on Second Street near the mission.
To get a higher density of booths, the club cut the cost in half to register a booth, Shelton said.
“We wanted to take care of the local shops that have to pay taxes every year,” he said.
Shelton hopes the Rotary Club can continue its involvement with the event into the future, he said.
“Hopefully, we can make it an even better event next year,” Shelton said.
The 47th annual Antique Flea Market will take place Sunday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Special guest Steven Yvaska, an antiques expert, will be at the show from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. offering free appraisals.
