The LIC Flea Opens This Weekend!

The LIC Flea & Food returns for its fifth year in business this weekend, Saturday and Sunday April 8 and 9. I remember those early days of the Flea, and it’s been exciting to see it grow and change over the years. It’s definitely become an institution in the neighborhood.

They’ll be located again in the lot at 5-25 46th Avenue in Long Island City at the corner of 46th Avenue and 5th Street. Along with shopping (clothes, jewelry, soap, furniture), the food aspect will be going strong, and the Flea has established its identity as a prime place to taste local beer, something they played with in previous seasons. Look to their Beer Garden section to enjoy local craft beer (LIC is home to a number of craft breweries), and it will feature tap takeovers where breweries can educate visitors on the uniqueness of their brewing philosophy and beer flavors. The Second Annual Queens Beer Festival is also in the plans.

On the edibles side, look for plenty of local food entrepreneurs on site (the Flea prides itself as a small business incubator). Past favorites are Tea & Milk, WozaNYC, CakeBox, and Bareburger, and we also look forward to more ice cream, iced tea, tacos, wings, and beyond. There are a handful of mini-festivals scheduled within the Flea, too:

• Beer & Taco Takedown, June 10 and 11. Unlimited craft beer tastings and “the largest variety of tacos in one place.”
• New York Wine & Sweets Fest, July 22 and 23. Unlimited wine tastings and a chance to shop from the Flea’s sweets vendors.
• BBQ & Brews, September 16 and 17. Unlimited beer tasting, and “an insane amount of the best BBQ you’ll find for sale in the city.”
• Second Annual Queens Beer Festival, October 14 and 15. Unlimited beer tastings from every Queens-based brewery, as well as a curated selection of beer brewed in Brooklyn, The Bronx and Staten Island.

If you’d like to be a vendor, you may still apply online at www.licflea.com or email info@licflea.com.

We look forward to seeing you there this weekend!