Thousands of visitors flocked to Welle on Sunday for the annual flea market and garage sale. Spread over about 30 streets, 1,600 stalls were set up, making the event the largest flea market in
Flanders. The organizers are once again calling it a top edition.
Due to the pandemic, the flea market took place in September last year, but this year the event returned to its traditional last Sunday of June. According to organizer Maspoe, there were a record number of stalls this year: "We notice that more and more people are participating in every street. The popularity among the people of Welle increases every year. It is important that they continue to support the event so strongly. People look forward to it all year round. It is primarily a community event, where people invite their neighbors and have social interactions that are normally less frequent," says Kim Barbé from Maspoe.
The flea market and garage sale attracts people from all over Flanders, and even from France and the Netherlands, to Welle. "It is always crowded with people. Fortunately, we have a dedicated mobility team that manages everything. 30,000 visitors naturally bring a lot of cars, as people also come from afar. We recommend everyone to come by bike or on foot, but that is not possible for everyone," says Barbé.
Evy Praet from Erpe-Mere has been visiting the flea market for 10 years in a row: "The flea market is always marked on my calendar," she says. "This year, we are not participating because we want to fully enjoy the atmosphere and all the stalls," she adds.
Jean-Pierre Ophals from Welle has been participating in the flea market for 7 years: "We set up everything at 4 o'clock in the morning. We used to visit flea markets as visitors, now we are the ones selling."
Flea market can still grow According to the organizers, Welle has not reached its maximum capacity during the flea market and there is room for further expansion: "We still have a small margin of ten percent to expand further. Then Welle will be completely filled," concludes organizer Kim Barbé from Maspoe.