You can find almost anything online nowadays, but the experience pales next to the shopping sensory overload of the Daytona Flea & Farmers Market.
“I’ve been coming here as long as I can remember,” said Avery Duffy, 20, out for an early stroll among the sun dresses, bandanas and fashion items on a recent Sunday morning. “I just like finding new stuff. Things I didn’t expect to see. It’s a family tradition for me.”
Although the Daytona market, with its high visibility off Interstate 95 and U.S. Highway 92, is perhaps the most well-known of the area’s flea market offerings, it has plenty of company from Oak Hill to DeLand to Flagler County.
For Daytona Flea Market vendors, customers represent the world
For longtime vendors such as Russell Paiva, owner of the 1 Better Product collectibles shop, the Daytona Flea Market offers access to a worldwide audience.
“Daytona is a globally known destination and when people come here, they hear about the flea market and they want to be entertained,” said Paiva, who has been a fixture at the Daytona Flea Market for two decades.
“Bike Week, spring break, these events have the potential to bring in people from around the world, so all my stuff is globally known.”
At his booth, near the flea market’s C South entrance, Paiva specializes in comic books, action figures, sports cards and other collectibles. With a new “Superman” movie in theaters this summer, the Man of Steel is now among the most in-demand characters.
“I sell a lot of Beatles memorabilia, too,” he said, “and that is rare stuff.”
Pet fashions also among items at Daytona Flea & Farmers Market
Nearby, Nancy Hill has been operating XevaDuds Furbaby Fashions for just two months, but she sees a promising future.
“I started making doggie bandanas at home and giving them to friends,” she said. “I taught myself how to sew and started making collars, leashes, bowties and shirts.”
Now, she is equipped with a sewing machine at her booth to make custom orders for flea market shoppers, a demographic that typically includes “a lot of tourists,” she said.
Hill also has diversified by creating some 300 handmade gnomes that also have become popular sellers.
While gnomes might be a niche item, it fits perfectly with the unimaginably long list of trinkets, toys and impulse purchase possibilities at area flea markets: Cigars, colognes, beachwear, wood carvings, sunglasses, vanity license plates, golf carts, darts, stun guns, toys, incense, coins, musical instruments. Variety is an understatement.
The Daytona Flea & Farmers Market, at 1425 Tomoka Farms Road, is open Friday, Saturday and Sunday, with free admission and parking. Hours are 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Visit daytonafleamarket.com for details.
Where are other flea markets in the Daytona Beach, Flagler area?
All Aboard Flea & Farmers Market, with handmade crafts, farm-fresh produce, flea market items: 7 a.m.-1 p.m. Thursdays-Sundays; 5005 S. Ridgewood Ave., Port Orange; free admission. 386-523-3579.
Artisan Alley Farmers Market, with arts and crafts, fresh food and produce, music and more: 6-9 p.m. Fridays; Artisan Alley, between Georgia and New York avenues, west of Woodland Boulevard, DeLand; free admission. artisanalleydeland.com
New Smyrna Beach Farmers Market, with fresh-cut flowers, plants, herbs, heirloom produce, baked and prepared foods, arts and crafts, clothing, candles and more: 7 a.m.-noon Saturdays; 210 Sams Ave., New Smyrna Beach; free admission; nsbfarmersmarket.com
Oak Hill Flea Market, with items ranging from antiques to tools to plants: 7 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturdays, 7 a.m.-noon Sundays; 351 U.S. Highway 1, Oak Hill; free admission; 386-760-2280.
Ormond Beach Farmers Market, fresh food, veggies, honey, plants, crafts and more: 8 a.m.-1 p.m. Thursdays; City Hall Plaza, 22 S. Beach St, Ormond Beach; free admission. ormondbeachmainstreet.com
Volusia County Flea & Farmers Market, with fresh produce and flea market vendors: 7 a.m.-noon Wednesdays; Volusia County Fairgrounds, 3150 E. New York Ave., DeLand; free admission; 386-734-1612.
Flagler County flea markets
Flagler Beach Farmers Market, fresh produce, arts and crafts: 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Saturdays; Wickline Park, 315 South 7th St. in Flagler Beach; free admission. visitflagler.com
European Village Farmers Market, with fresh food and veggies, arts and crafts, more: noon-4 p.m. Sundays; European Village, 101 Palm Harbor Parkway, Palm Coast; free admission. visitflagler.com
This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Daytona Flea Market is not the only one in Volusia, Flagler. A tour of it and others
Reporting by Jim Abbott, Daytona Beach News-Journal / The Daytona Beach News-Journal
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