As a life-long fan of garage sales, estate sales, junk shops and antique malls, one of my absolute favorite places on Earth is the Greenwood Flea Market in Greenwood, La. Located just off of Exit 5 on I-20, the Greenwood Flea Market consists of a very large, U-shaped indoor facility housing dozens of shops. The area outside of the facility, a paved area covered by junk in places, provides additional spaces for vendors. I’d guess that there are 60-70 shops, some of which are located down winding paths and inside of old train cars on the east side of the complex. If this all sounds like quite an adventure to explore, that’s because it is. It may not be everyone’s idea of a great flea market, but it suits me just fine.
My last trip out, I met a new vendor who sells homemade magnets and buttons with her husband. Some of her hottest-selling items, she told me, are refrigerator magnets bearing images of cats with handlebar mustaches.
“Those cats are internet memes,” she said with a smile.
As a Greenwood Flea Market regular, I highly recommend that you stop by Nimmo’s, a large shop located just inside the easternmost entrance to the indoor area. The proprietor of the shop, Penny, is an incredibly kind retiree who loves to walk and talk with her customers. Antique and costume jewelry, beer steins, vinyl records and antique kitchenware are probably the specialties of her shop.
If you’re a first-time visitor to Greenwood Flea Market, I’d recommend that you bring cash, as retrieving cash from the snack bar can be a bit of a hassle – the snack bar, by the way, doubles as an ATM.
Greenwood Flea Market is a lovably weird, unique place to spend a Saturday or Sunday afternoon. Check out a slideshow of images from my last trip.
It’s important to note that there are two Greenwood Road exits on I-20. The Greenwood Flea Market is off of the one that’s in Greenwood, La – not Shreveport. The physical address of the Flea Market is 9249 Jefferson Paige Rd, Greenwood, LA. It is open every Saturday and Sunday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m.
