Punk Rock Flea Market, Bethlehem, CT

Punk Rock Flea Market
8/20/2023

Bethlehem, Connecticut is a small town of about 3500 people and a surprising number of cows. It is a rural community with a long history of farming, mostly dairy. There is a hardware store. There used to be a grocery store with a gas station but that has closed. There are a good number of farm stands which provide for the summer essentials of fresh produce and eggs. Farm trucks are the background noise in and around town. When the Christmas Festival opens, these trucks are decked out with twinkle lights and the children pile in to ride into town for the festival. It’s a small town.

One special feature of the town is the Fairgrounds which hosts the Bethlehem Fair every September quickly followed by the Garlic Festival, etc. This past Sunday, August 20, 2023, the Fairgrounds was the host to the Punk Rock Flea Market. There were all sorts of interesting vendors, crafts people, food trucks, and music. Many of the vendors had death or bones themes, including a taxidermist named Ashley, a comic book artist specializing in criminology textbooks, an embalmer of reptiles. There were also Happy Reaper farmers, Jill and Will, as well as owners of a pig rescue facility, Clover’s Pig Preserve. There were lots of people in black clothing, lots of tattoos and moreover, lots of happy people.