ALLENTOWN, Pa. — At the end of its run at Allentown Fairgrounds, this year’s Auto Mania automotive flea market seemed to get stuck in the snow.
But a slow and snowy Sunday capped a weekend of otherwise strong attendance and sales, organizers said.
The weekend-long automotive flea market in the fairgrounds Agriplex, held by promoter Carlisle Events, gave attendees a chance to buy everything from new and vintage car parts to tools, posters, signs and other automobilia.
“The key to an event like this really is the thrill of the hunt, because some people come to the event with specific needs in mind."Mike Garland of Carlisle Events, presenter of auto Mania flea market
“The key to an event like this really is the thrill of the hunt, because some people come to the event with specific needs in mind,” Carlisle Events Mike Garland said.
“Others just come because it's an opportunity to hang out with their friends that maybe they haven’t seen in a couple of months, and hey, you never know what we're going to find.”
With up to 8 inches of snow forecast for the Lehigh Valley on Sunday afternoon, the market saw only a handful of customers by late Sunday morning.
Virtually all of its vendors, many of whom drove hours to Allentown from as far away as Pittsburgh, started packing up their booths by 11 a.m., hoping to beat the worst road conditions.
Roaring out of the gate
However, brisk business Friday and Saturday was enough to offset low turnout Sunday, many of the market’s sellers said.
“A lot of people did tell me yesterday that they were here on Saturday because they knew about the forecast.”John Smulligan, a seller from Hazleton specializing in muscle car parts
“As far as we’re concerned, it was worth coming to the show,” said John Smulligan, a seller from Hazleton specializing in muscle car parts.
“A lot of people did tell me yesterday that they were here on Saturday because they knew about the forecast.”
While Carlisle Events does not share specific turnout figures, Garland said this year’s market drew “a couple hundred vendors and a few thousand guests” — in line with what Auto Mania has drawn in years past.
Auto Mania was founded in 1990 by a local car enthusiast. Promoter Bill Miller took over running the show in the late 1990s before Carlisle Events bought the show in the early 2010s.
As one of only a few automotive events held in January, the AutoMania market gives car enthusiasts a climate-controlled chance to meet up and stock up before car show season begins in the Spring, vendors said.
