Lake City Community Center

Found the LCCC one random Saturday afternoon. A sandwich board placard on the corner begs your attention, so we dropped in. As we got closer to the building there was a guy standing in the middle of the road, munching on a sandwich, and directing cars to parking slots… funny.
The center was having a vintage market this weekend and what a pleasant surprise it was. The place is larger than it looks. Every room was filled to the brim with vintage goodies presented by individual vendors. The selection was wonderful and the prices reasonable. The vendors are so nice and willing to educate you about their collections. One gentleman sells vintage Christmas cards and buttons. I bought a few lovely cards (no one does graphics like this anymore) and plan on framing them whenever I find some nice antique frames. I also found a vintage pin that looks just like my doggies.
I love antiquing but have found that the regular antique shops are getting pretentious (everything behind locked glass) and expensive. You can come to the LCCC, have fun conversations, and take home some treasures.
They also have a flea market every few months.

This community center is now under new management. I was looking for a space to rent for a kids activity and Diane and Don were very friendly, helpful and accomodating. The Place is undergoing a gradual upgrade in paint and furnishings and each time I go there something new has been done, Diane and Don have great plans for more improvements both to the building and the programs. Don’t judge this place by its exterior, this center and management team are a gem in this community.

I’ve been here a few times now for the Lake City Lions Club Flea Market, which is held every 2^nd Saturday of the month except for August.
Getting here is pretty easy, it’s fairly close to the Dick’s on Lake City. Parking is another story. The building has about a dozen parking spots and you’ll often see cars double parked (the horror). Otherwise you’re looking at street parking which can take you rather far away. Once you do find some parking far away, be sure to see if it’s a «30mins load» or if there’s a «No Parking» sign anywhere.
The building itself is old and tired, with well-​worn furniture in the waiting area and office. The restrooms are clean though. The large auditorium reminds me of a cafeteria, especially since they set up long folding tables for people to show their wares. There is a small café that will sell coffee, donuts, and sandwiches for a couple bucks.
I like coming here because there is always something different at the flea market. One on hand, you’ll get the stuff that is priced high (for my taste) of antique items such as coins, toys, and jewelry. On the other, you’ll see stuff that is priced rather low which you don’t need to buy so you don’t but you so regret it later (sigh). Then there’s a bunch of stuff in the middle that doesn’t really land on your radar for whatever reason but it’s still fun to wander around and browse a couple laps.
You can show up early or on time to score good parking, but the tables don’t really fill until maybe 2hrs after the official start time. Then it may get a little crowded with more buyers showing up.
The folks at the vendor tables and staffing the café/​office are super sweet and nice. They always have interesting stories to tell about their items. It’s an overall relaxed vibe for the people like me who hope to find something really cool. :)