Local News

Crafty Flea Market to offer 70 vendors at Lake Antoine

When Jennifer Flynn of The Daily News met new Dickinson County resident Doni-Mae B. Rauch in 1989, little did they know they would team up for charity work more than three decades later.

The two now are the main organizers behind the ninth-annual Crafty Flea Market, set for 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday in the campgrounds of Lake Antoine Park.

This year, 70 vendors have been booked to take part in the Crafty Flea Market, offering a wide variety of crafts, homemade goods and other items. A full list of vendors can be seen in an ad on page A8 of today's paper.

This combined fundraising effort by The Daily News' Newspapers in Education, or NIE, and Lake Antoine Park Partners, or LAPP, benefits both non-profit programs. NIE provides area schools with newspapers that assist teachers and other educators, while LAPP aims to help beautify the park, most recently working on its "Everyone Plays!" accessible playground.

"I remember when Doni-Mae walked through the front door of The Daily News with her sons, her youngest hiding behind her long denim skirt," said Flynn, then a front desk clerk, now regional circulation manager/general manager of Powers Printing.

"I had just come here from being the editor of two weekly newspapers in southern Illinois and the way Jennifer greeted me was not as someone trying to sell me a subscription but as welcoming me to the community," Rauch recalled.

Flynn has headed The Daily News' Newspapers in Education program since 2014. Rauch became a charter member of Lake Antoine Park Partners when the volunteer group formed in 2017.

So, after Rauch was authorized to coordinate a fundraiser for the 501(c)(3) organization, she contacted Flynn to see if something could help both charities.

"I always believed that service to humanity is the best work of life," Rauch said. "And I saw that Jennifer seemed to live her life to be of lasting value to her family, friends and co-workers. We became friends who wanted to benefit our community."

"We figured that if craft and flea market vendors paid to set up in about a dozen of the 70-plus (park camping) sites we could help the market folks make some money, the two charities could make some necessary funds and folks could shop for unique items for their homes and or to give as holiday gifts," Rauch said.

"In our second year, more people wanted to sell their wares, and by the fourth year, you had to get signed up quickly to get a site," Flynn said of the reservations she handles.

From the first year, Rauch and Flynn listened to suggestions by vendors and visitors to make the park roads into pedestrian walkways so it would be easier for wheelchairs, strollers and walker. They later added a volunteer golf cart ride from the handicapped parking area.

This year brings in food trucks for the first time, with Billie's/Sugar Jets, Menominee River Roasters and Hungry Bear Popcorn planning to be on site.

For several years, the Dickinson-Iron District health department has provided an outdoor lactation station, a welcoming, private and comfortable space to feed a baby, pump, change diapers or simply take a break.

To avoid weather problems, Rauch has worked with Amber Grassinger, the WIC breastfeeding peer counselor at the Dickinson-Iron District Health Department, to shift the lactation station from tents to an RV so families have a warm space.

Admission is a $2 donation per person, with no charge for ages 10 and younger, at the entrances to Lake Antoine Park, N3393 Quinnesec-Lake Antoine Road. The event will go on rain or shine, organizers said. The park does have designated parking for the handicapped.

For more information, contact Flynn at 906-774-2772, ext. 85218.

"We look forward to seeing familiar and new faces this year," Flynn said.