New air-conditioned indoor swap meet attracts summer crowds in Arizona

The Yuma Convention Center features air conditioning.

The Yuma Civic Center Indoor Swap Meet will take place for the second time tomorrow, Aug. 28, in Yuma, Ariz. The swap meet’s first-ever session took place June 12. According to Civic Center box office and events specialist Stephanie McMillin, the market has been so successful that more dates are being considered, and “next summer, we will definitely have a full schedule of indoor swap meet dates.”

“This is the first year the Yuma Civic Center has hosted this type of event,” says McMillin, “I was looking for an event that year-round Yuma residents would want to come to during the summer. Since the other swap meets either close when the snowbirds leave or are just too hot to attend, I thought an indoor swap meet would be popular. The first swap meet sold out in three days, with 90 vendors, and our attendance was over 1,000 adults.”

Average daily temperatures in Yuma rise to 104°F in June and 106°F in August; the record highs are in the 120°Fs, according to Wikipedia. So the air conditioning is certainly a draw, as the Yuma Sun points out.

The swap meet has 134 vendors committed to tomorrow’s event. The cost to set up a selling space is $10 for a 10 ft by 10 ft booth, with an 8-foot table and 2 padded chairs. “The entire building is used for vendor space,” McMillin says. “We will have tables and chairs in the lobby for eating and keeping pooped spouses out of the way.”

A wide range of products are available. “Vendors’ merchandise includes yard sale items, direct and home-based sales, information, fundraisers, handcrafted items, art, antiques, knock-off designer purses and sunglasses, furniture, tarot card readers, baked goods, salsa, and candy,” says McMillin.

And if the joy of air conditioning is not enough to numb attendees to the heat, there is another option. “We are serving hot breakfasts and lunches from our concessions,” says McMillin. “The drink special on Saturday is Bloody Mary’s made with cucumber vodka — yes, starting at 8 am!”

For more information, call the Yuma Civic Center at (928) 373-5043.

Photo courtesy Bing.com.