TULALIP — Sharon Kennedy didn’t get the spot she wanted at the Boom City Swap Meet.
Instead Kennedy, 51, signed up for her second choice — a space where her only concern was potential glare from the sun. She didn’t mind. She would be selling her pots of Kentucky Blue, wheat and cat grass for the first time at the swap meet.
“I am very much looking forward to this and my niece is too,” said Kennedy, who lives in Lake Stevens. “We’d thought about going to another little swap meet but when I saw this here I thought this is the spot to be because we have the casino, it’s right off I-5 and the price is right.”
The Boom City Swap Meet opens for the first time at 7 a.m. today with merchant and food vendors, said Les Parks, a Tulalip Tribal member and business owner who leased 15 acres in Quil Ceda Village in order to start the swap meet.
Parks, 54, said he and his friend, George Craig, were driving to a construction job one day when Craig told him he thought there should be a swap meet in the area. He thought it was a good idea and he found that others liked the idea, too, he said.
“We expect about maybe 75 vendors this weekend, maybe up to 100,” Parks said. “Interest is really strong out there. People are coming by to check out the site, the website is getting a lot of hits and we’ve had a lot of phone calls.”
The Boom City Swap Meet has space for 175 vendors and is scheduled to be open from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays. The swap meet is set to close from June 4 to July 15 for regular Boom City Fireworks vendors and then reopen July 16 through September. Admission is $1 per person with a maximum charge of $3 per car. Children ages 12 and younger are admitted free and there is no charge for parking.
The Boom City Swap Meet is open to everyone, Parks said, and will feature American Indian merchandise, handmade arts and crafts, antiques and food choices including fry bread, salmon, hot dogs and hamburgers, cotton candy and ice cream. Children’s areas with face painting, bouncy houses and possible pony rides are scheduled after opening weekend, Parks said.
“It’s going to be more than a typical swap meet, it’s going to be a swap meet on steroids,” Parks said. “We’re going to do our best to keep our vendors happy because they’re going to keep me happy and the customers are going to make the vendors happy. It’s going to be one big family.”
Vendors were given the chance to preview the site Friday and sign up for specific weekends. Parks said he expected more vendors to arrive at 6 a.m. today to claim their spots and to start setting up for customers.
Sandy Garner, 49, on Friday helped Marysville resident Kara Consbrock, 26, claim a spot to sell tutus, costume butterfly wings and hair accessories. He had plans to set up tables and tents in the morning for the start of the swap meet.
“People seem excited,” he said. “I’ve spoken to quite a few tribal members, too, who are also excited to come out.”
Amy Daybert: 425-339-3491; adaybert@heraldnet.com.
Swap Meet
The Boom City Swap Meet opens today from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. off 27th Avenue NE in a gravel spot behind the Tulalip Casino. To reserve a space, vendors can sign up at www.boomcityswapmeet.com or call 425-359-3864. Vendors will be charged $15 to $20 depending on space requirements.
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