Exploring an outdoor market on a Sunday is a time-honored New York tradition.  From single girls searching for the perfect vintage dress to old couples bickering lovingly over a pair of lampshades, they attract all types.  On a good day at a market, you can find almost anything.  Old photographs, back issues of your once-favorite magazine, almost unworn vintage boots & a pink rotary telephone?  It’s yours for the taking!

But if you’re sick of the same-old same-old, there’s a new stomping ground.  It’s a small stomping ground, to be sure, but it exists.  The Hester Street Fair, on the corner of Hester & Essex Streets in the Lower East Side, should definitely be added to that bulging “to do” list of yours.

Its modest size only adds to the appeal.  Instead of hundreds of stalls straining under the weight of mountains of junk, there are only a handful of vendors.  Every store is completely different & has been curated with care.  From hand-drawn coloring books to vintage jewelery & an unbelievably superb range of vintage eyeglasses, Hester Street Fair is a great market for the hard-to-impress crowd.  The ratio of vintage to handmade is probably 50/50, but there are no ugly tchotchkes here.  The range of two- & three-finger rings alone will have you reaching for your purse!

Once you’re done browsing, I strongly suggest noshing on a Hester Street Fair-sourced lunch.  The food is excellent.  Take advantage of the picnic tables in the middle of the space, & load up on cucumber & mint lemonade, insanely good pretzels, Cuban corn & empanadas, pulled pork sandwiches & exotic-flavored macaroons.  Finish up with a Guinness ice-cream sandwich or a hibiscus Mexican-style Popsicle.  Delicious!

Don’t fear the heat, either.  Despite the blistering 93° heat, the shade from the neighboring park helps keep the temperatures down — & so does the misting tent!

Hester Street Fair is open every Saturday & Sunday, from 10am-6pm, between April & December.  Keep up to date with the latest goings on at the Hester Street Fair.com.

Words by Gala Darling