Junktiques to bring outdoor festivities to Old North End

When loud music starts bumping and ping pong balls start flying around Burlington, chances are high that the source is a frat house. But this summer, you might find that the source is actually an old antiques shop.

Starting May 21, Junktiques Collective — a 20-year-old thrift store in Burlington’s Old North End — will be hosting outdoor market parties from 12-5 p.m. every Saturday and Sunday.

The market parties are slated to feature DJs, live music, food trucks, ping pong tables, and more in the parking lot of the former Champlain Transmission garage at the corner of North Winooski Avenue and Archibald Street.

The outdoor market will be an addition to the Junktiques storefront, which will continue to operate at 324 N. Winooski Ave.

Junktiques owner purchased long-vacant lot

The vacant lot and garage were purchased by Junktiques owner Phinneus Sonin several months ago.

“[Let’s] see if we can bring the community together in a spot that’s been vacant for at least six years now,” Sonin said. “It’ll be great. Just seeing the place come back to life as, like, a healthy space for people to commune in.”

Sonin’s vision for the lot includes a gazebo, raised garden beds, and spray-painted art.

Before all the bells and whistles though, the site needs serious environmental remediation after years of being a car service garage. The garage is a designated “brownfield site” by the Vermont Agency of Natural Resources, as it is contaminated with PCE’s, a toxic chemical.

“It’s a big project that I’m jumping into, but — hey — somebody’s gotta do it, ” Sonin said. “I’m a big fan of turning trash into treasure.”

What is Junktiques?

Originally a project born out of dumpster diving, Junktiques started by literally turning trash into treasure. Today, the store’s goods come from a variety of sources, but Sonin still maintains a zero-waste ethos.

“The mission of reclaiming goods from going to the dump and giving all

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kinds of objects a second life I think has been very rewarding,” Sonin said.

Everything from vintage musical organs to old weight loss machines to rocking horses can be found at Junktiques. Clothes, books, kitchen appliances, and more line the walls of the overflowing store.

“Junktiques is what I would consider an ever-growing dynamic art exhibition

that happens to be a shop at the same time,” Sonin said.

By offering a little bit of something for everybody, Sonin aims for the store to be a spot where folks from all walks of life can congregate and commune with one another.

“There’ll be a refugee, and you know, a Shelburne mom, and a college kid, and just all kinds of people shopping here at the same time,” Sonin said.

This longstanding Junktiques mission of bringing together Burlingtonians from a diversity of backgrounds is at the forefront of Sonin’s mind for the new outdoor market party plans.

“Community is everything to me,” Sonin said. “[I’m trying to] reach a whole bunch of

people and make it, just like, a lively hub in the neighborhood.”

Contact April Fisher at [email protected]. Follow on Twitter: @AMFisherMedia

This article originally appeared on Burlington Free Press: Junktiques holding outdoor market parties in the Old North End