The mood was festive at the Avon Fire House on Saturday, Dec. 5, as several dozen local families drifted in and out of the building, browsing tables of gently used items and clothes, and stopping to talk to other families or maybe decorate an ornament or two.
The gathering was another of the Kinnakeet Civic Association’s Really Really Free Markets, a monthly event that encourages everyone and anyone to drop off or pick up items ranging from kitchenware to coats, children’s toys to crafts. Attendees can even exchange services, lessons, ideas, or just conversations – anything is fair game, so long as money doesn’t change hands.
The free markets are scheduled for the first Saturday of every month from 9:30 a.m. until 12:30 p.m. at the firehouse. The next market will be held on Jan. 2.
At Saturday’s event, children of all ages were browsing through toys and making crafts under the supervision of attending adults at a central table. The firehouse’s Christmas decorations provided a festive backdrop, and one table that was covered with plastic bins filled with crafty goodies – the raw materials ideal for holiday décor – was especially popular with folks wanting to get a jump start on their decorating.
While all this is going on, another person is eyeing a bright red slow cooker that’s in excellent shape and is free for the taking. The shopper does a slow survey around the room, as if wondering, “Is it really OK for me to just take this and leave?”
This is standard stuff at the free market, and while it seems strange that people can just walk in, take whatever they want, and walk out, it’s exactly what the free market is for.
According to press releases, Really Really Free Markets can be found throughout the country, and are essentially a celebration of cooperation and gift-giving. As at other Really Really Free markets across the U.S. and around the world, the organizers, in this case the Kinnakeet Civic Association, aim to create and a place where folks come together to meet the needs of others in the community, and where “free” means just that – really, really free.
Everyone is welcome to attend these events, and they are scheduled to be held throughout all of 2010. For more information on donating items, call Jenn Augustson, Kinnakeet Civic Association President, at 252-995-3855.

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