About 300 vendors, an on-site winery, and half a dozen food trucks greet visitors to Treasure Island in San Francisco Bay on the last weekend of every month for the Treasure Island Flea. There's live music and plenty of space at the dog-friendly venue, which moves indoors during the winter months.
On February 23-24, 2013, the Treasure Island Flea gates are open, rain or shine, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., admission is $3 for adults, free for children. Free parking.
Food trucks this weekend are: Le Truc, Chairman Bao, An The Go, Hiyaaa, the Missing Link, Harvey's Gourmet Donuts, Casa, and Manna Sushi.
Live music this weekend features Kenya Baker, also Kevin Kooyumjian and Scott Holliday.
Panoramic views of the San Francisco skyline, Alcatraz, the Golden Gate Bridge, Bay Bridge are a bonus. And, another bonus, plenty of free parking. It's just 10 minutes over the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge from downtown San Francisco by car or by bus.
Since the first Treasure Island Flea in May 2011, co-founder Charlie Ansanelli Jr. says the market has expanded, word has spread, and it has grown very popular. Colorful stalls feature antiques, vintage goods, trinkets, ethnic accessories, indie items, handmade pieces, homemade soap, home decor, books, jewelry, old vinyl, bric-a-brac, and retro finds.
Recent visitors to Treasure Island Flea have scooped up: The Beatles' "Revolver" album, a vintage Leica camera, a San Francisco 49ers doggy jacket, 1950s wooden dominoes, vintage Ferragamo brogues, a driftwood sculpture, an old Red Flyer wagon, a manual typewriter, outdoor wind chimes, a set of painted wooden frames, a $5 fedora, old-time hula hoops, and an RCA Victrola.
You never know what you'll stumble across, which always makes flea markets fun. The organizers usually run a scavenger hunt, as well, adding another aspect of fun to the hunt.
Remember to bring cash. Most food truck items are $3 to $7. A recent sampling of menu items included Vietnamese garlic noodles; lemongrass beef skewers; baked pork belly buns; sweet corn tortilla with black beans, jack cheese, fried bananas and pulled pork; and hot mini donuts freshly made to order before your eyes. The big barn is home to SF Winery, where visitors can enjoy red, white or rosé, or a beer, typically $3.
Treasure Island was created as a man-made island attached to Yerba Buena Island under the Bay Bridge for the 1939 Golden Gate International Exposition. The San Francisco Muni bus line 108 serves Treasure Island from the temporary Transbay Terminal downtown.
The next Treasure Island Flea dates are March 30-31, 2013.
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