After 22 years, John Muir Elementary School’s PTA will host its final ever monthly Flea Market this Saturday, April 6 from 9 am to 3 pm.
Flea Market coordinator Jaime Greger said the volunteers of the Flea Market appreciate the years of support and loyalty the Santa Monica community has provided to the John Muir Elementary School.
“After examining the past year’s results of the Flea Market, the John Muir PTA realized the Flea Market was a costly and labor intensive operation to run,” Greger said. “As the community has changed, the PTA felt the Flea Market also needed to transform with the times.”
Gregor said its group felt there were other opportunities to raise money for the school that didn’t require such a large investment of time and money.
She said they are considering other activities such as a quarterly boutique.
The PTA and a group of volunteer parents were behind the monthly event where vendors sold a mixture of vintage clothing, coins, crystals, jewelry, and antique furniture.
To come up with creative ways to raise funds, an early group of parents in the PTA proposed the idea of a monthly market in 1990.
Greger said the John Muir Flea Market helped generate a revenue stream of needed funds for the school’s educational programs.
“One hundred percent of the money raised goes to the John Muir PTA,” Greger said. “Each vendor pays a space rental fee and 100 percent of that money goes to the school. Vendors keep all for their proceeds.”
Funds raised were used to support essential educational programs such as art, music, computer, and science.
Additionally, the funds cover the school’s buses for enriching field trips and help provide classroom supplies need by teachers.
On average, Greger said the Flea Market had about 30 vendors each first Saturday of the month.
The Flea Market this Saturday is at 2526 Sixth Street, Santa Monica 90405 (at the corner of 6th Street and Ocean Park Boulevard).
