The Rose Bowl Flea Market in Los Angeles resumes its schedule this week after being cancelled for a year due to the coronavirus.
The flea market’s organizer, RGC Shows, announced the reopening on Monday. This will be the first in-person flea market since March 2020. The market pivoted to online last August for the first time in partnership with the apparel brand, Free People.
For over 50 years the Rose Bowl Flea Market has been hallowed ground for denim heads to unearth vintage jeans and other rare indigo gems. Prior to the pandemic, the flea market was held every second Sunday of the month in Pasadena and attracted nearly 20,000 shoppers and 2,500 vendors. Featuring more than 2 million items, it was known around the world for its size and unique offerings.
With demand for vintage and repurposed denim soaring since the start of the pandemic, however, the flea is on track to draw a new crowd of conscious consumers.
The announcement follows a steady decline in positive Covid-19 cases and increased vaccine distribution in Los Angeles and Orange counties. Though the Rose Bowl Flea Market is held outdoors, its size and large crowds were prohibited by state and city protocols until now. On Tuesday, Los Angeles moved to California’s orange tier, which signifies a “moderate risk.” In this tier, capacity restrictions have been completely lifted for stores with safety procedures in place and outdoor businesses like amusement parks and live event venues, such as the Rose Bowl, may reopen with 33 percent capacity. On Tuesday, Governor Gavin Newsom announced plans for California to “fully reopen on June 15,” while keeping face-mask mandates in place.
The market, however, will have a different vibe. RGC Shows stated that approval to open the market is currently based on guidelines that must be followed by vendors and buyers. In order to operate the market in a safe manner, all buyers must maintain social distancing requirements of six feet and are required to wear a face mask at all times.
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Vendors are required to wear masks as well and stay within their own “vendor boundaries” to practice social distancing. Vendors with booth spaces that are at least 10-feet deep and 20-feet wide are encouraged to remain in the center of their booth. Organizers encourage vendors to create a “home base” in the center of their booth and to bring a supply of their own hand sanitizer for themselves and customers.
The company stated that it will be monitoring and enforcing these rules.
All vendor tickets purchased last year, starting at the April 12, 2020 event, and additional tickets purchased for events through the Dec. 13, 2020, event, will be valid. April 2020 tickets are good for April 2021, May 2020 tickets are good for May 2021 and so on through December 2021.