Onawa Iowa swap meet. Any good?

I was thinking of driving over to Iowa this weekend for the swap meet. Never been to this one before. Is it any good

 

It's OK ,not near the size of Fremont.

 

Hey. . .don't miss the Swap Meet in Onawa. . .it's this weekend August 16-17 from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. both days.

A BIG hello to EVERYONE I met at the Leadsled Spectacular in Salina a couple of weeks ago. . .what a great event!!
olskool31coupe

 

Who's all going?

 

It was actually a Flee Market/ Swap Meet. It was about 99% flea market with 1% car related items. Very little car related items and it didnt take me and my father more than about 1/2 hour from the time we stopped to go thru the whole thing and leave. My oppion is it was a good swap meet at one time and has gone down hill and is so poor it wouldnt be worth having another one again. This one has gotten as bad as Marshalltown Iowa. Only about 12 guys or so setup at Marhsalltown Iowa anymore and it too isnt worth going to anymore.

 

You guys ever go to the swap meet in Greenfield, IA? It's put on by the Early Wheels of Iowa club (click the link for their site). Sept. 12-14 this year. Lots of vendors there every year, Model A-s through mullet Chevys.

 

Onawa's Swap Meet is like a lot of others, including Fremont's Summer Meet this year. . .a victim of high gas prices, E-Bay, and lack of attendance. They said they were down about 60 vendors from last year at Onawa. One year they'll have a couple hundred vendors and no buyers, the next year they'll have all kinds of people walking through and not many vendors. . .one feeds off of, or deteriorates the other. Like any of our car events, they need the support of fellow enthusiasts. . .especially for the work it takes to put on any of these shows or swap meets. All you can do is try, but without the support of fellow enthusiasts, it's like beating your head against the wall.
The Onawa meet has the location and the potential to be as big as Fremont, Lincoln or Greenfield if it has the support of all of us (vendors and buyers alike). . .posts like this only hurt the situation and make for fewer and fewer automotive events like this. . .soon there won't be any!!
Of all swap meets I've ever attended, the Onawa meet really caters to the vendors and the public with free overnight camping, free parking and free admission, not to mention a vendor fee of only $10 per space. . .hell, they even give the vendors free coffee and donuts in the morning!! That's why many of them come back year after year. And like some other meets, the guys at Onawa aren't making a ton of money. . .in fact, some years they lose money, but still enjoy putting it on because they are enthusiasts themselves. There was some pretty cool street rod frames and paint and body shop/welding items mixed in with the flea market-type vendors that attended (from five states).
If you go to Fremont, Greenfield, Lincoln or other 'bigger' meets, look around. . .proportionately, there are probably just as many if not more flea market/craft fair vendors. . .you just don't have the time to pay that much attention to them!!
All I can say is get out and support these events, whether you're a vendor or a buyer, or just a car guy (or gal) looking for a way to spend an afternoon. . .'nuff said.