COLUMBIA — The Missouri Vintage Fest brought used household items and clothes to new owners at the MU Healthcare Pavillion on Sunday.
The event featured over 35 different vendors selling clothing, jewelry, handbags, accessories, records, and more. Event organizers estimated over 1,000 people walked through Sunday's festival. Vendors traveled in from all over the Midwest including Wisconsin, Minneapolis, St. Louis, and Kansas City.
Event organizer, Tony Santos, said that he himself had come from Milwaukee, Wisconsin for this event. Santos said that the Vintage Fest tries to hold their festivals in college towns, since they've already seen much success at other schools like Illinois State and University of Wisconsin-Madison.
"I saw an opportunity to start the brand here in Missouri and with Mizzou being a huge school, it was a great opportunity for us to bring the popularity of vintage to Mizzou," Santos said.
With the event being planned less than three weeks ago, Santos shared that he was grateful for Sunday's turnout.
"I'm really thankful for the community showing up today with a three week notice and it not being the warmest day of the week... Being welcomed to the community and just seeing the excitement around vintage and sustainability and shopping secondhand has been cool to see," Santos said.
Paige Patterson, a University of Missouri student and avid thrifter shared that the event exceeded her expectations.
"I already got some good stuff," Patterson said. "I'm very surprised by the turnout here. They've done such an awesome job with this space."
Santos says he hopes to bring this event back to Columbia in the Fall. For those who missed out on Sunday's festival, Santos said they're also planning a Kansas City festival for Summer 2025.
