Hometown revives old fashioned trade days

Above, patrons could find tools and antiques available outside the old hardware store. Photo by Tisha Emmons.

At right, local Amish set up selling variety of fresh vegetables and fruits and homemade breads. Photo by Tisha Emmons.

This past Saturday couldn’t have been a better day for some good old trading.

Clear skies and favorable temperatures were a welcomed sight for patrons looking for deals at Owingsville’s Trade Day.

The July event featured several vendors, selling anything from jewelry, antiques, food and fresh homegrown produce.

Featured vendors this month were the Twisted Sister Grill featuring tenderloin, burgers, hot dogs and elephant ears and Chickabiddy which featured its signature frozen yogurt treats.

Located on North Court Street behind the Memorial Library, Trade Day brought back a bygone era Owingsville hasn’t seen in several years.

Local business owner Charles ‘Chick’ Smith had several antiques and tools available outside the hardware store at the corner of Main and North Court Streets. “I’m glad to see the weather has cooperated,” he said.

Local Amish farmers had fresh produce and homemade ice cream at their booth across the street in front of Linda Barber’s Perfect Lady Salon.

Other produce stands were set up along Main Street near the courthouse and brought in many customers. The local vendors had a variety of items to offer—from household items to custom made jewelry, there was something for most everyone.

Aside from the booths set up along North Court Street, several other people had yard sales throughout Owingsville and were quite busy. It was a good day for trading, indeed.

It has been Tom Byron’s hope to bring back hometown events and revitalize Owingsville’s local traditions for many years. Every Fourth of July Weekend, Hoss Tradin’ Days was the local summer festival for Owingsville with vendors set up all downtown and the featured Outhouse Race event. As time moved on, so did Hoss Tradin’ Days; an unfortunate victim of changing times. For Tom, and many other residents, the desire to have a summer festival event to bring people back into town has been brewing for quite some time. It is the hope and goal that Trade Day will blossom into a big scale event each month, with the streets of Owingsville lined with vendors and patrons supporting local businesses.

Trade Day will be held every first Saturday throughout the summer. Vendor space is free; all local vendors are encouraged to set up with whatever they have to offer. Anyone who is interested in setting up can contact Tom Byron at 606-674-6096, and you can also find Owingsville Trade Day on Facebook to get directions, event dates and any other related notifications.

North Court Street was lined with a variety of jewelry, flowers, antiques, clothing and housewares.