The second annual BG Thrift Fest was held at the Wood County Fairgrounds from 12 to 5 p.m. The event hosted arts and crafts vendors, local food trucks and student organizations, but the event was truly spearheaded by small business vintage resale vendors from across the state.
The event had a unique focus on the sustainable nature of thrift shopping. In a social media post to promote the event, the BG Thrift Fest Instagram, run by festival organizer Meara Holden, noted how purchasing secondhand apparel could help consumers “avoid overconsumption” and “purchase clothing that is long-lasting and versatile.”
One vendor at the event was Caden Baleczak, a senior fashion merchandising major at BG, who said he brought a booth of selections from his Depop store to provide high fashion at low costs to students.
“I like selling clothes for a really discounted price to people because I know not everyone can afford it,” Baleczak said. “A lot of people do struggle, and a lot of people have more bills and better things they could spend their money on.”
Along with varying price points, the different vendors also had varying perspectives on fashion and environmentalism. Jordan DeCessna, the owner of Five Star Vintage, said she opened her business and brought a booth of curated pieces to the event focused on highlighting natural vintage clothes.
“I source a lot of vintage clothing from the 80s to the early 2000s,” DeCessna said. “I try to focus on natural fibers and items that are made in the USA just because I think that’s a really cool aspect of the sustainable part of what secondhand fashion and thrifting is: finding the cool pieces that are trendy these days but were made here 30 or 40 years ago.”
Students and community members supported Baleczak, DeCessna and the almost 30 other resale vendors at Saturday’s festival. Event-goers like Kalen Dougall, a freshman AYA social studies major at BGSU, spoke on the variety of fashion options at the event compared to the options in the average BG thrift store.
“I’m definitely liking how there’s a wide selection,” Dougall said. “There’s a lot of things that I wouldn’t really be able to find at the local Goodwill, so I’m having a good time.”
Other event attendees, like junior studio art major Bart Reamer, spoke on the variety of available deals and how affordable the clothes at the event were compared to everyday shopping.
“I’ve already bought three things,” Reamer said. “There’s some really good deals about buying two and getting one free, and of course I didn’t want to waste money, so I had to buy three things. It’s just how that works.”
Holden, a senior fashion merchandising student at BG, took to the BG Thrift Fest’s social media to thank attendees, vendors and everybody in between for the event’s success.
“BG Thrift Fest 2024 was a raging success!! Thank you to everyone who came out to support the events yesterday and special thanks to all of the vendors and food trucks that made the event possible,” Holden said in her Instagram post.
