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Lynnhurst
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Junkers Unite: Bring Your Trucks, Trailers and Wagons to Cadiz for Junque Fest

July 17, 2018 | Jamie Sears Rawlings

It’s true that you just never know what you need until you see it at a flea market or yard sale. To test that theory, junkers now have another stop on the weekend tour of hot spots for deals, steals and an overall good time scoring them: Cadiz’s weekly Junque Fest (pronounced Junk Fest).

Held every Saturday morning from 7:00 a.m. to noon on historic Main Street in Cadiz, Jamie Lewis from Cadiz-Trigg County Tourism says that Junque Fest vendors are a mix of crafters, artists and plain old junkers. According to Lewis, any vendor is welcome at no charge, but they have to register their booth at City Hall prior to the weekend. Even better, vendors only have to register once to participate in one or every event. Located just across from the weekly Farmers Market, each Junque Fest has seen between 10 and 25 vendors selling anything from new pottery to old shoes.

Lewis says that the idea for Junque Fest came literally in the mail via an issue of newsletter Small Town Survival, which told the story of a similar initiative in another small town.

“The number one question we get in the tourism office is ‘where is your local flea market?’ and we just didn’t have one,” Lewis says.

“That was the catalyst that started the beginnings of Junque Fest.”

In its first year, the Fest began on April 1 and Lewis says it will continue weekly until October. In the spring, she said that crowds were high for the Saturday morning shopping extravaganzas, but they have waned as the temperatures have risen in the summer.

“It’s just really hot out there on that parking lot,” she says.

She is optimistic that the fall months will, once again, see more people coming out to browse woodworking crafts, handmade soaps and treasures from basements across Western Kentucky. She also hopes that Junque Fest will begin attracting more people from across the region, as she gauges the crowd now as “mostly locals.”

Even though the Fest is new, Lewis and her community have high expectations for its potential. She plans to recruit food trucks and food vendors to the events on top of even more “Junque” booths. They are prepared for that expansion too, already securing the permission needed to expand to another, bigger lot on Main Street.

Even better, they are eyeing the city’s old IGA building as a potential indoor space for vendors, which could be the key that unlocks a future where Junque Fest could last all year, regardless of season.

“No matter what happens,” Lewis says, “we just hope that it keeps growing.”

Junque Fest is located each Saturday at 8 Spring Street and admission to shop is free. For additional information, visit www.gocadiz.com or call 270-522-3892 or 270-522-8756.

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