WYOMING, Mich. — One of my favorite memories growing up was shopping at the flea market with my mom. Now thanks to the Godwin Mercado, a new community space, Wyoming neighbors can make their own memories while supporting local businesses.
Patrice DeWitt started Charm of a Candle six months ago and offers a wide variety of scented candles. As a business owner, she understands the impact of shopping local.
"The community, is just helping one another," DeWitt said. "Just to be successful, and what they love to do. It's really important to me as a person."
The Godwin Mercado has made shopping local much easier for residents.
Krawshawn Martin, director of the Parks and Recreation team with the city of Wyoming, says this inaugural flea market is just the beginning.
"This is our first flea market that we're hosting here at the Godwin Mercado," Martin said."So this is the first of many events that you will see in this space here for our community."
Martin says community members specifically requested more gathering spaces where neighbors and businesses could connect with each other. The new venue fills a void that had existed since the 28th Street Outdoor Flea Market closed years ago.
"When we were creating this space, we heard very clearly that people wanted to see a version of a flea market back in Wyoming," Martin said.
The indoor market brings back nostalgic memories for neighbors like Analicia Mejia-Urian, who attended with her daughter and granddaughters Zamora and Mayella.
"We used to go there," Mejia-Urian said about the former flea market. "But it's inside, so that's nice."
Her granddaughters were excited about their finds at the market.
"It looks cute, like a stuffy, because I have a lot of Hello Kitty ones," Zamora said.
For DeWitt, having a local market right in the community is particularly valuable.
"It's very cool, because I have also lived in Caledonia and Middleville, and they're really huge on farmers markets. So it'd be really nice to not have to drive as far to go to be right here and buy local. That'd be great," DeWitt said.
The flea market will return on Sunday from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. The city hopes to continue bringing more events to the space, including a farmers market this spring.
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