© Richard HuangThe 400 Market is just five minutes south of Barrie, Ontario, near Exit 85 on Highway 400. I imagine that is where the market gets its name.
© Richard HuangEach car pays one dollar on the way in—perhaps an admission fee, or perhaps simply a parking charge.
© Richard HuangThe 400 Market began in 1986 as a flea market and farmers’ market.
© Richard HuangIt has continued to grow since opening, expanding three times to reach its present 105,000 square feet. The wares have become more refined along the way, though the character of the old flea market remains.
© Richard HuangThe 400 Market is open every weekend year-round, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Today, 500 vendors operate indoors, with additional stalls outside.
© Richard HuangThe market also contains a 30,000-square-foot antique mall devoted to antiques, collectibles, handicrafts, and all manner of unusual objects. This was our main destination.
© Richard Huang
© Richard HuangThe antique mall holds a vast assortment of objects, including the usual ceramics, porcelain, jewelry, silverware, and goldware.
© Richard HuangThere is furniture too, along with textiles and decorative pieces.
© Richard HuangAntique markets often have old paint cans, beverage bottles, and the like. I find myself wondering whether collectors are interested in the containers or in what is still inside them.
© Richard HuangPresumably, the paint and drinks have long since ceased to be of any practical use.
© Richard HuangThere are also books of every kind, old records, artworks, and other rare treasures waiting to be found.
© Richard HuangWe even spotted a few items from China.
© Richard HuangAnother intriguing feature of the market is that, despite its hundreds of vendors, none of the individual booths are attended. Once customers find something they want, they take it to the main service counter, which handles all payments. Valuable items may be kept in locked cabinets, but the service counter will unlock those as well. If a customer wants to haggle, the staff phone the vendor and negotiate on the customer’s behalf. We had encountered this arrangement once before inFort Langley.
© Richard HuangThe market draws visitors and collectors from far and wide.
© Richard HuangWhile the bosses busied themselves hunting through the old wares, I was busy observing the many kinds of customers.
© Richard Huang
© Richard HuangThe market regularly hosts events and exhibitions, and it also has restaurants and cafés where visitors can sit down and unwind.
© Richard Huang
© Richard HuangBy the end of the day, each of us had come away with something. The pleasure of browsing an antique market lies not only in finding an object you love at a bargain price, but also in catching an intriguing glimpse of local history and culture.