The Denver Flea

This was great. Full disclosure I have never been a flea market or swap market person, so my husband drug me here. I love shopping local, but I didn’t see the draw of flea markets. That being said Denver Flea was amazing. We walked away with way more than we were expecting to and wished we would have spent more. What a great selection. What a cool vibe. What a great experience!

This flea was definitely pretty packed for a Sunday. I’m not sure if it is just that they are becoming more popular or that there was just a bunch of people there, but it is becoming uenjoyable. There were quite a few new vendors that I saw aside from the usuals.

I came here during the spring 2016 event on a Saturday around 1pm with my hubby. The event closed off some roads so it did cause quite a bit of traffic. We drove around for maybe 5 minutes to find parking on the street.
We stood in a long line for a few minutes until we heard a volunteer say if we walk all the way to the other side, there was no line at all. About half our line rushed over and walked like 5 minutes. He lied… The line was almost triple the one we originally stood in! Lesson learned. We waited maybe for 20 minutes until we got in. It cost $ 5 per person but you get two free drinks. You can redeem the drink tickets at two bars inside– the line is suuuuuuper long.
The weather was beautiful today– high 70s and sunny. The majority of vendors were outside. Everything was neatly set up and it wasn’t terribly crowded but still super busy. There were lots of fashion trucks where you enter the truck to view the goods– that was new to me! There was a truck with a free photo booth and another one with a spinning wheel and free swag. A lot of the vendors offered free food samples– but to my disappointment, 90% of them were spicy sauces!!! I can’t eat spicy. :(Another complaint is that there were maybe only like 8 food trucks in the food truck area and the lines were INSANE so I didn’t even bother looking at them.
This is definitely not a flea market– it’s a local street market full of boutique vendors and such. It was very interesting– I wish it wasn’t only 4xs a year!
We ended up buying some delicious Vermont made cinnamon maple syrup $ 20 and a headband $ 3.
I definitely want to come back! :)

I wish I could give this market zero stars. I used to vend at this «flea» at the very beginning and the organizers have completely gotten greedy and let their heads go you know where. Completely unprofessional. i now choose to support the artists that attend this market elsewhere such as at all the other incredible small markets around like Denver HAHO, horseshoe and firefly (just to name a few) and the vendors online or brick and mortar stores. Its really upsetting when artists out there such as myself are at the mercy of such disorganized, disrespectful and unappreciative people. It is, after all, the artists and vendors that should get the credit, yet we are the ones treated poorly. Shame on you Denver flea.

I went to the Denver Flea for the very first time this last Friday night for the holiday party. It was a fun experience! What I expected was a lot of cool, local products and a lot of trendy people. Both expectations were met :)
My friends and I arrived close to when it opened and it was fairly empty. By the time about an hour had passed, the place was packed and no matter which bar you went to you, you were standing in line. The cool part about the holiday party was the 5 drink coupons you were given! Not a bad deal! There were a collection of food trucks out back providing (delicious) food, and there was some indoor tall-​boy tables and seating if you needed a break.
I didn’t end up buying a ton of items while there (I consider myself frugal), but saw quite a few things that I have bookmarked away or took their business card to consider purchasing later. It’s always just fun to see small businesses doing their thing!
One big bummer — I checked on Unilocal when I got to the Flea and it said «Congrats, go to registration and get your free piece of Unilocal schwag!» and I. Was. Stoked. I love free things! So I hustled my way over to the registration desk where the guy who was working the event told me he had no idea what I was showing him (the screen from Unilocal letting me know I could get some free stuff). He offered me 2 drink tickets since he didnt’ have any schwag, but it was 9:30 already (Flea closed at 10) and I was headed out the door as it was. This isn’t the Flea’s fault I wouldn’t think, but still a let down.

This was a good take. I appreciated that the $ 5 entry fee actually got me a beer so it didn’t feel like a waste. Tons of vendors, pet and kid friendly. I did find that almost everything was more expensive than I was willing to spend, but that’s how a lot of these markets go in this area. It was also incredibly crowded. Luckily people seemed to be in the holiday spirit and actually apologized when they bulldozed into you. I’d attend again.

do not go to this event! they over charge completely for this event and over look and ignore potential vendors and play favorites with certain businesses so others can never vend.
please still support all of the artisans by going to their online stores and supporting them there. i beg you please do not pay good money to these people while you can easily support the artists 100%

I am a huge fan of the local/​craft market scene, and this event fit the bill. It was held in the Bindery on Blake St. Which was a great warehouse location to house all the vendors. If you RSVP before the event you got a free New Belgium beer. Tons of local vendors selling their wares. Like other reviewers have mentioned this was not your traditional «flea market.» The Denver Flea’s version is more of a handmade, re-​purposed, hipster-​esque market. You may not find a lot of older items, but you will score some great finds. Locally made soaps, ties, trucker caps, vinyl records… I think everyone could find a little something here!
This place was very crowded. To the point of over crowded. Which made it very difficult to shop around with the vendors. The other large disappointment that I had was in the food vendors. Sadly by the time I got around to grabbing a bite to eat they were already packing up for the day because they had run out of food stuffs. Boo! Sad day for me. I guess they underestimated the attendance for this event.
It will be interesting to see what the next installment holds!

I hit up the Denver Flea today. It was held in a parking garage which I think was a fabulous idea! It was spread out well with lots of room for making the rounds without being shoulder to shoulder. The good — It was different. The parking garage was really a great idea. The live music was fun, the food trucks were great. The «booze stations» made it easy to get cocktails. It was also dog and kid friendly. The bad — It wasn’t really much of a flea market. Everything was pretty hipster and there wasn’t a ton of variety in truth. Perhaps the organizers could reach out to different aspects of the community to get a bigger swath of goods, vendors and merch. The other downside today was the heat. The foodtrucks were all outside of the garage and the live music was on the the rooftop deck, but there was no shade for either. Some tables with umbrellas or shade tents with chairs would have been perfect. All in all, I would give it another go to see if there is variety in merch the next time around.

If I could give Ther Denver Flea 3.5 stars, I would. I have found Denver markets are trying to capitalize on the term «flea market» when really they aren’t. This definitely falls into that category. I very much enjoy the variety of vendors and the fact you get a free beer if you RSVP, but I absolutely hate the previous locations of the 2014 Winter Flea and the 2015 Spring Flea. I get that RiNo is an very up and coming neighborhood and really supports local art and artists, but the set up for this event is just horrid. I think it’s good in theory, but it’s almost like there are too many vendors in one space (The Bindery on Blake). It has been so overcrowded and I feel like I keep missing out on great vendors and products because of how crowded each table space is. I have passed over many vendors because I can’t get close enough to their products. The other issue I have with this in the RiNo district is how bad parking is. There are so many breweries located in that area, that everyone is fighting over parking. I have generally parked 7 or more blocks away to get to the event.
I’m interested to see how the Summer Flea in the parking garage will be. I think it was be better space wise, but I guess we’ll see! I do plan on attending these in the future, it’s just not my absolute favorite.

Sometimes you just want to get out and peruse some goods, goodies and live music. It was fun to explore the venders and people watch. We had some great cocktail concoctions and enjoyed shopping despite the fact it is pretty limited as far as what I would call a flea market but I did get some great soap and a cute t-​shirt. I would absolutely return… hope they get more flea items. Oh, and the food trucks are great fun!

My first year at the Flea. Was able to stop by the Unilocal booth and pick up a pair of Unilocal life gloves woohoo!
We did RSVP and got our 1 free beer from New Belgium. This place is basically a blown up version of The Source and it will be exciting to see what it will become.

Great. I loved it.

This years event was pretty cool, I can’t wait for next years. There were so many cool vendors, but keep in mind they are artisan so it can be pricey. Lots of the products are kind of expensive but what can you really expect from small batch artisans, the quality is really good though.

Not a traditional flea market, but still pretty awesome. I’d call it more of a «maker fair» or «Local Etsy Orgy». Super cool stuff, fun atmosphere!

Great fun! They handed out a bunch of freebies, and saw all kinds of cool vintage stuff and homemade goodies!

Tons of vendors, cool space and a free beer to boot!

This is a really nice way to spend a kinda chilly Spring Saturday!
If you RSVP on their website you get a free beer! The line seems really long but it only takes a few seconds to get through and the old guy handing out beers is a downright charmer.
Having said that, this place is too packed. That’s my one big complaint. Its hard to get the chance to enjoy a sampling of local jams or teas when there are a million people hovering around waiting for their chance to try local pierogis.
TONS of great local booths with thousands upon thousands of things to spend your hard-​earneds on! If I had a dispensable income, I would have gotten one of everything! (Don’t worry about cash btw, everybody’s got a tablet with a credit card swipey thingy (official name).
Parking sucks in this area. Just be warned. I think you can spend 5 bucks on a spot provided by the flea but I felt much more satisfaction squeeeeezing my car into a teeny tiny spot showing off my flawless parallel parking skills. I’m not even joking.
No need to eat lunch before this event! There are food trucks hanging outside and a bazillion samples inside!

A great atmosphere but I would have not called this a flea market. Loved the live music and all the food and drink spots. Also if you RSVPed ahead of time you got a free beer, which was fun. I had. Great time walking around to the different booths, but it was a little disappointed given it was a flea market.

Fun & interesting, lots of flavor
Not a flea market per se but good time nonetheless
Lots of vendors & food trucks
Pay for parking, I agree

Lots of cute local vendors selling everything from antiques to pickles to furniture. Beer from new Belgium and plenty of food trucks too. Free entry, but got pretty crowded. Fun Saturday morning!

nice place with some cute antiques! good foodtrucks are there, larkburguer being one of them. pretty crowded and hot inside, but there are tables with water available which is a nice touch. live music, free entrance, good food, and local vendors; what else can you ask for?

by no means a «flea market», sorry, call it a hipster obscure collections contest but do not call it a flea market.
had a fun time, lots of free beer and samples but, again, by no means was a flea market.
I love looking for vintage stuff that tickles my fancy but this place did not offer much vintage or used merchandise at all.
It was hipsters trying to make money off of stuff hipsters like: vinyl, plaid shirts, homemade soap, hand stitched fanny packs, etc.
i had a good time, not going to lie, just was expecting an actual flea market and was disappointed that everything there was new…