Shortly after opening, buyers were checking out merchandise and making purchases.
Review & Onsite Photos by Andrea Valluzzo
WOODBURY, CONN. — The Woodbury Flea Market is a small, family-owned operation, dwarfed in size when compared to Brimfield or the multi-state 127 Corridor Sale, but bigger is not always better.
Going strong now for four decades, the market is now owned by the Kaloidis family who continue to run it after the 2022 passing of Gus Kaloidis, who took it over from Don and Diane Heavens in 2007.
“It’s a small, family-run market, and on a typical weekend we have anywhere between 30 and 50 dealers,” said Ann Kaloidis. “In the early years, I’ve had a little bit of everything in collectibles from cards to comic books — whatever people were collecting — but especially antiques. There were a lot of well-known antiques dealers who would come and vend.”
Dealers set up at the flea on Saturdays from April to November. One of those includes longtime exhibitor Asa Sherokow, who now manages the market for the Kaloidis family. Set up near the entrance with his glassware booth, Sherokow was seen early in the morning, greeting dealers and customers and making sure everyone had what they needed. A Middlebury, Conn., resident, Sherokow began working with Gus to manage the fair and ably continues to this day. “Asa is out there every Saturday, boots on the ground,” Ann said.
Show manager Asa Sherokow took a quick break from his duties to pose for a photo in his booth.
Sherokow is in his fourth year of running the market and said on an average day, several hundred customers come through. “My favorite part of running the market is getting the opportunity to meet lots of people with similar interests every weekend. You could expect to find lots of vintage and antique treasures from all over the world,” he said. “People love coming here because you never know what will turn up on the field, and it’s the thrill of the hunt that keeps people coming back week to week.”
Today, the market is a mix of material, genres and, like a typical flea market, has lots to offer on a typical summer day, from fresh corn and Italian specialties to antique tools, jewelry, milk bottles, glassware, furniture, petroliana and more.
“We have some vendors who have been with it since the beginning and vendors that have come every week for years and years so it’s kind of like a family,” Kaloidis added.
This Cheshire, Conn., dealer’s booth ranged from wall hangings to metalware.
The owners use the tagline, “All treasure maps lead to Woodbury,” and Ann noted that people come to find treasures. She still remembers one man who came a few years ago and found a part for a cannon that was worth a fair amount of money. “He got so excited we had to bring him a chair outside. So, you really can find some treasures if you look around.”
Asked her favorite part of this show, she was quick to say, “It’s the people and the vendors and the enjoyment that shoppers get when they find things. We’ve known many of them for many years and it’s enjoyable. My husband enjoyed it because he was in town for many, many years. He knew many of the customers, and he knew all of the dealers. I think that is what I enjoy the most is the interaction.”
The market continues through Saturdays through November, from 7 am to 2 pm, at 44 Sherman Hill Road. For information, www.woodburyflea.com.
