Winnipeg is no stranger to creators’ markets, but what if you’re looking for a DIY gift that is a little more … unusual than the typical market fare?
An event at a West End-area community centre this Sunday might just be the thing for you.
“We’ve looked for vendors that are a little bit more unusual, a little bit more quirky, a little bit different,” said Em Curry, coordinator of the city’s first-ever Punk Rock Flea Market.
“(We feature) a lot of smaller makers who maybe just wouldn’t be able to produce the volume of stuff needed for some of these bigger markets. Anything a little bit different than the normal path.”
Curry said the event, which has been in the works since last fall, is patterned on similar markets in the U.S., including one in Trenton, N.J., that has grown to an arena-sized “punk rock comic con” over the years.
The first annual Winnipeg event, which takes place at the Orioles site of Valour Community Club on Burnell Street, may have “punk rock” in the name, but Curry said it’s more about the do-it-yourself attitude than anything else.
“It’s about that ethic, about doing something different, branching out and saying, ‘I want to do something no one else is doing, I’m not seeing what I like, so I’m going to make it myself’,” she said.
“It’s really about that spirit and ethos rather than just about the music — it’s not going to be all studded belts and mohawks.”
Among the 35 vendors are local makers selling everything from clothing to oddities to records to tasty treats.
“It’s going to be a little bit of everything,” Curry said. “I tried to just blend it all together and make it punk rock.”
That attitude is what attracted vendor Nicholas Friesen, an illustrator, writer and comic book creator, who has developed an entire universe — from printed books to animated videos to albums of original music — around his original character, Olivia Sea.
“The Punk Rock Flea Market just seemed like something that was so obviously Winnipeg, yet Winnipeg was totally lacking,” Friesen said.
“There are so many great makers’ markets in the city,” he said, adding that this one will be a little more underground. “It’s something where creators that are off the beaten path a little bit can get involved and get their work in front of a bunch of people.
“It’s super exciting. I’m excited to be part of the first annual (event).”
To borrow a term from punk rock shows, the event is decidedly all-ages, with free admission for kids 12 and under — and Curry said making sure it was an accessible space for all was an important part of the planning.
More information about the event and its vendors is available on the Winnipeg Punk Rock Flea Market website.