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Date: 8/21/2023
BRIMFIELD — The Brimfield Flea Market can mean different things to different people. To some it’s a potential treasure trove of items that can’t be found anywhere else. To others it means that three times a year the traffic through the small Hampden County town is slow and congested.
Regardless of both views, the markets, which are described as “America’s Oldest Outdoor Antiques Flea Markets,” bring a huge number of people to the region and make a significant contribution to the economy of Western Massachusetts.
According to Don Moriarty, who owns, along with his wife Pam, The Heart of the Mart field, the Brimfield markets are only second to the Big E in drawing visitors to the state.
Mary Kay Wydra, president of the Greater Springfield Convention and Visitors Bureau, explained to Reminder Publishing that according to computer models, The Brimfield Flea Markets bring in approximately $2.2 million for each of its three annual shows for a total of $6.6 million annually.
She called the shows “world renowned” and events that “shed light on Western Massachusetts.”
Wydra said that it’s not just New Englanders who go to the shows looking for a rare item. The audience comes from around the world.
Moriarty concurred. He knows of buyers from Asia who come with a 50-foot shipping container to load their purchases for transportation back home. He added there is an Australian dealer who brings a similar shipping container to every show and has done so for a long time. There are other dealers from The Netherlands that do the same.
Moriarty added that it isn’t just buyers who come from around the world. There is a dealer he has who comes from Hungary.
Wydra pointed out that an episode of “Flea Market Flip” with Lauran Spenser was shot at one of the shows and that style icon Martha Stewart has been spotted shopping.
She added one of the impacts is the surge in hotel rentals for the three shows a year with accommodations in the Sturbridge area and beyond filling up.
The shows were first started in 1959 and Moriarty and his wife have been operating their field, Heart of the Mart since 1982. There are 20 fields, all owned separately, some with admission charges and some without that make up each market. The hours for each field are different as well. Parking is also available for a fee at several areas. Visitors should consult www.brimnfieldantiquemarket.com for details before making plans.
Moriarty noted the growth of the enterprise. He said that in 1982 the couple had six dealers. By 1984 they had 40 dealers. In the show this May they had 400 dealers renting selling spaces on their property.
He said recent shows for him have been “dynamite.” He added, they have been “very very vibrant.”
He explained the May show is always the largest in terms of attendance, while the July market because of the summer heat and potential thunderstorms draws fewer people. The September show, due to cooler temperatures is the second best attended.
He added that relations between town officials and the flea market operators is “quite copasetic,” although he admitted there can be “friction” finding the balance between public safety and running the businesses.
The next and final show for the season will be Sept. 5-10.