Vendors

Knickknacks are still there, but savvy buyers and online competition drive prices up The scene at a flea market in Santa Monica, Calif., says it all: Shiny black Lincoln Town Cars and Mercedes-Benz SUVs have packed the preferred parking spaces. Vendors look as if they belong in Nordstrom, not under a tent in an airport parking lot. As shoppers wander the aisles, lattes in hand, actor John Malkovich stops by one booth and eyes a French Moderne-style desk from the 1940s. Too late. It sold hours ago for $1,200.

I cannot believe that our mayor or any other city or state officials would even consider allotting up to $25 million for renovations at Lexington Market ("Lexington's update," April 7). As a retired merchant with 30 years' experience at Lexington Market, I suggest management give more thought to painting and to hiring a good Realtor to bring in gourmet cheese shops and a French bakery. The market should also offer incentives and stop the beer and liquor drinking among customers shopping in the market.

Amish food vendors in prayer caps and suspenders have come to Baltimore to sell meats, cheeses, baked goods — and a little bit of fantasy. The vendors might be Old Order Amish who live without electricity and many other modern conveniences in Lancaster County, Pa., traveling here in a van with a hired driver because they do not drive. But many of the foods they're peddling in the Cherry Hill market they opened last month are modern, industrial products. There is, for example, the beef, promoted as a grass-fed product from a Lancaster County farm.

A group representing Baltimore-area food trucks have signed a letter of support for the Food Truck Association of Metropolitan Washington, which is fighting a set of new regulations it fears will hamper and even cripple its business. Addressed to the Council of the District of Columbia, the letter was signed by eight regional food truck associations, including the Maryland Mobile Food Truck Association, whose members operate in the Baltimore area.  The letter says proposed regulations from Mayor Vincent C. Gray "represent some of the worst food truck laws in the country.

The Columbia Association is seeking vendors and artisans for its annual Columbia International Day being held July 24 at the Downtown Columbia Lakefront. This free event features live music and entertainment representing a variety of cultures, with food, crafts, children's activities and more. Applications are being accepted from those who wish to display or sell items with an international theme. There is a discounted rate for those who apply prior to June 2. For more information, call 410-715-3161 or 410-715-3175.

The Columbia Association is seeking vendors and artisans for its annual Columbia International Day on July 24 at the Downtown Columbia Lakefront. This free event features live music and entertainment representing a variety of cultures, with food, crafts, children's activities and more. Applications are being accepted from those who wish to display or sell items with an international theme. There is a discounted rate for those who apply before June 2. For more information, call 410-715-3161 or 410-715-3175.

Vendors and exhibitors are wanted for Howard County's GreenFest, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. April 17 at Howard Community College's Burrill Galleria, 10901 Little Patuxent Parkway in Columbia. People with information on green products, ecological home cleaning and lawn care, alternative energy, water conservation and reuse, and tips for everyday activities are encouraged to apply. Each space includes a 5-foot table and two chairs. Cost for nonprofits is $25 per space, $35 per space for others.

The Jewish Federation of Howard County is seeking vendors, volunteers and corporate sponsors for its 21st annual Purim Carnival, Purim Palooza, to be held Sunday, Feb. 24, from 1 to 4 p.m., at Reservoir High School, 11550 Scaggsville Road, in Fulton. The event will include entertainment by Washington Talent including DJ Doug Sandler, games, crafts, photo novelties, airbrush hats and shirts, megillah reading and Queen Esther's Spa, featuring manicures and hair styling. Michael Rosman will be presenting his juggling and circus camp.

Baltimore's Lexington Market proudly calls itself the oldest continuously operating public market in the nation — and home to some of the best crab cakes in the world at its famed Faidley's Seafood cafe. Yet even a venerable landmark that's been in business since 1785 needs an occasional upgrade. That's why the announcement last week of plans for a $20 million to $25 million renovation of the market is welcome news for everyone who values its historical significance. But simply making cosmetic changes to the building's interior won't be enough to attract new vendors and customers to the site.

Charles Kelley stands in Baltimore's historic Lexington Market, chowing down on a Faidley's overstuffed crab cake sandwich. It doesn't bother the 37-year-old North Carolina man that the market doesn't have gourmet coffee, wine or cheese shops. He's OK with the faded signs and the dirty floor. As jumbo lump crab meat spills out of his sandwich, Kelley is in a state of bliss. "I've had crab cake sandwiches all over," he says, "and this is the best. " While devotees such as Kelley, who come from long distances for the renowned seafood at the 231-year-old market, are content with their surroundings, city officials are hoping to attract a broader audience.

More than a half-dozen food vendors will move into Annapolis's historic Market House at City Dock, city officials announced Friday. The vendors are: Yellowfin Seafood & Oyster Bar, a spinoff of the Yellowfin Steak and Fish House in Edgewater; the Hard Bean Café, which is moving from across the street; Carl's Corned Beef & Delicatessen and Midship Fresh Bar, also under Hard Bean's banner; Annapolis Organic Market and Good Life Smoothie Bar, both...

At our venue, we're lucky to have a wedding coordinator who works with us to ensure everything comes together. She'll help us especially on the day of the wedding to make sure the details are handled so that we can enjoy the moment. Since it's just a couple months until the wedding, we got to meet with our coordinator recently and it was such a great experience. I would recommend all brides, when they are looking at potential venues, ask if they will be given a coordinator (for no additional charge)

Baltimore County police seized $1.5 million worth of counterfeit merchandise after a raid at a Dundalk flea market last month, the department announced Wednesday. Charges are pending against 19 people who rent space in the market, not the flea market owners, police said. The vendors have not been identified. Officers raided the North Point Plaza Flea Market on Old North Point Boulevard on Feb. 16, taking more than 4,000 pairs of shoes and 3,500 phone accessories along with pirated movies and music and clothing items.

As regulars perused handmade jewelry, discounted bedsheets, slightly-worn stuffed animals and other knick-knacks, dozens of Baltimore County police officers swarmed into a bustling Dundalk flea market Saturday morning to bust vendors allegedly selling counterfeit merchandise. What appeared to be fleece North Face jackets, UGG Boots, DVDs and CDs were seized by officers serving search warrants on 16 vendors at the Plaza Flea Market on Old North Point Boulevard. “They just came running in here and told people to put the stuff down.

When Maryland merchants talk about the recent legalization of same-sex marriage, they sometimes talk of broad, lofty themes: Equality. Justice. Civil rights. But there's another practical concept at work: Dollar signs. The financial motivation was on display Sunday at the second annual Gay and Lesbian Wedding Expo at the Tremont Suites Hotel & Grand Historic Venue in downtown Baltimore, where dozens of vendors competed for the attention of dozens of couples whose weddings now carry the official blessing of the state of Maryland.

At first glance, a grass-roots farmers' market in the covered parking lot of a suburban mall seems a bit incongruous. But that's the charm, and convenience, of the Westfield Annapolis Winter Farmers' Market, held every other Sunday at Westfield Annapolis Mall from January into April. Patrons can park their car, pop into Macy's to buy a Gucci handbag or designer sweater, then walk across the lot and stock up on potatoes, turnips, cabbage, eggs and chicken, or enjoy a bowl of homemade Italian chicken and vegetable soup.