Eastside Flea to shut up shop (for now) on June 15

Long-running pop-up market Eastside Flea will have to vacate their long-time home at 550 Malkin Avenue this summer as the building is scheduled for demolition.

Lisa Parker, operations manager, told the Straight in an email that the Flea would be running every weekend up until closing those Strathcona doors for good on June 15. 

“We feel really lucky to be able to finish off the final weeks with the Eastside Flea at this building and look back so fondly on the last five years we've been at 550 Malkin Avenue and the community that was created here,” she said. 

Dozens of vendors, along with food trucks, a photo booth and an outdoor seating space, will continue to occupy the venue every Saturday and Sunday starting on May 6 and through to the final market on June 11. (That’s Taurus and Gemini season, for the astrologically-inclined.)

While arts spaces in Vancouver often rely on demolition-marked buildings for affordable rents, Parker emphasized that there was no ill will about receiving the final lease extension.

“This isn't an announcement intended to elicit any ill feelings towards development and displacement in Vancouver, but rather just to spread the word that the Eastside Flea's time at Eastside Studios is up,” she said.

The Warehouse, an events space run by Eastside Studios, had their final parties in the building this February. The org has already started hosting fundraising events at their new Mount Pleasant location, The Birdhouse. 

Where the Flea lands next is yet to be seen, but there are still a few weeks left to get your fill of local, vintage and quirky goods—and to say goodbye to an iconic Eastside space.

“We’ll just be spending the summer looking for a new home to launch in fall, hopefully,” Parker added.

The Eastside Flea will be open at 550 Malkin Avenue from 11am to 5pm every weekend till June 11. Entrance fee costs $5.