Saturday meet has listless return

Paul Clinton

The crowds were slow to return to Orange Coast College’s Saturday

swap meet, which returned after a nine-month hiatus.

Business was slow at the weekend marketplace, a bazaar-type event

that organizers ratcheted back to Sundays-only in May, after Costa

Mesa officials complained that it was causing too much traffic on

city streets.

“It’s been slow on the first day,” said Randy Lents, who was

selling athletic hats and shirts with sports logos. “It will probably

build back up. It will just take time.”

Vendors at the swap meet were seen unpacking their wares in the

early morning hours leading up to the 8 a.m. start time. By 2 p.m.,

however, many of those same merchants were loading up their trucks

and leaving, due to the sparse attendance. The event ran until 4

p.m., with the same hours on tap for today.

The event continues today and is expected to draw better crowds,

between 3,000 and 5,000, said Daniel Tapia, the event’s assistant

supervisor.

“There aren’t a lot of people,” Tapia said. “Give it a month and

it will be back to normal ... We’re happy to be up and running.”

Saturday’s event drew less traffic onto Fairview Road and other

nearby streets, resulted in less trash and also brought about 120

fewer venders.

In December, the college agreed to scale back the size of the

event, even shrinking the number of rows inside the event’s

footprint. The college removed two rows of vendors, Tapia said.

Until May, the swap meet operated on both weekend days each week

for almost two decades.

Councilwoman Libby Cowan initially objected to the Saturday event

in early 2002.

Costa Mesa resident Steve Prested, 47, headed to the swap meet on

Saturday and also noticed the low-key activity.

“I didn’t even know it was open it’s so dead,” Prested said. “It’s

great fun. Buy some fruit or some vegetables. Buy some $2 reading

glasses. It’s just spontaneous.”