Hey ho, let's go!

(To the Tulsa Punk Rock Flea Market)

Tony and Michelle Cozzaglio are constantly working. I met the married punk duo for drinks on a Wednesday, the only off day they share each week. But like true workaholics, they thrive off the hustle. Besides they’re regular gigs, and as if they weren’t busy enough curating North America’s largest annual street punk fest with Fuck You We Rule OK, they also helm the more-than-annual Tulsa Punk Rock Flea Market—and have taken it to other states.

If you haven’t been to Tulsa’s Punk Rock Flea Market, you can probably make a reasonable guess as to what it is. Rows of vendors display records, bullet-belts, rare and occult books, patches, pins, shirts, zines, art, homemade salsa, and just about anything else that falls under the “punk” banner. Rock n’ Roll surges from the P.A. system throughout the day, while beer flows from taps, and the whole thing ends with an after party concert. The event is all ages, and features a kids’ corner to keep the really little ones entertained, so all are truly welcome.

“There was a punk rock flea market in Trenton, New Jersey, which is massive, and I originally just thought it’d be cool to get my five friends together, and bring something like this to the Midwest,” Michelle said.

Other punk rock flea markets, like OKC’s Rock n’ Roll Garage Sale, have popped up here and there, but the Cozzaglio’s version became an instant, and recurring hit.

The first installment of the event had fifteen vendors, and around a hundred shoppers. The most recent installment saw those numbers grow to fifty and fifteen hundred, respectively. Originally planned to be annual, the event’s popularity has necessitated a quarterly recurrence. A growing number of the vendors are from out of state, as are the attendees.

“We’ve had people drive in from out of town, and tell us they want to start their own flea market in their state,” Michelle said.

If those people don’t start one, there’s a good chance Michelle and Tony will do it for them.

“Michelle had been doing ‘em here for almost four years,” Tony said. “And friends in other cities would always say ‘man we wish we had that here,’ and we said ‘well, do it!’ No one did...”  

“So,” Michelle said, “we did it!”

The couple chose Denver as their first show-on-the-road city, largely because of their strong connections with friends in its punk scene.

“You know, the largest flea market in Tulsa so far has drawn about fifteen hundred people,” Michelle told me. “Denver drew over four thousand.”

The couple are currently planning another Denver edition, before the end of the year, and have set their sights on Austin for early next year.

This weekend’s Tulsa Punk Rock Flea Market will be held outdoors in the Fur Shop’s lot, rather than its longtime spot at the American Legion. The event will be held outside for the first time (keeping it all ages), vendor numbers will climb to 100, a dunk tank will be present, at least five food trucks will be on hand, and live bands will play throughout the day.

I asked the couple how they handle all the work, and they said it’s not so bad.

“When we’re bartending, we’re usually working together,” Tony said. “And when we’re working on this stuff, whether it’s checkin’ emails, or working on design stuff or whatever, we’re just on the couch, side by side with laptop and laptop.”

All of the planning and headaches are well worth it, the couple says.

“People drive in from out of state, and say ‘I didn’t know Tulsa had a punk scene!,’ Michelle said. “Even people that live here, and are maybe under age, or can’t get out to see shows at night, don’t realize how big our scene is until they come to the Flea Market and meet people.”

“You know, one of the coolest things about this is seeing all these people alive at eleven in the morning,” Tony said.

You can see plenty of punks in broad daylight this weekend at Tulsa’s Punk Rock Flea Market.

Saturday, September 3, 2016.
11AM - 5PM
The Fur Shop Parking Lot 520 E. 3rd St. Tulsa, OK 74120
$5