People have been watching movies under the stars at the Malta Drive-In Theatre since 1949, with the community landmark being an unofficial sign of warmer temperatures and a more laidback few months.
But this year, the drive-in will host more than movies. It will be home to the Malta Drive-In Market, an open market that will take up camp on Sundays from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. through October.
The drive-in is a wonderful place because it’s very accessible, eveyerbody knows it, it’s a long-standing institution and a great space to do it, said Mike Thompson, owner of the market.
The open market will have antiques and wares from local businesses, as well as fresh produce and other homegrown food products.
Don’t call it a flea market, though, because it’s not.
`We’re not a flea market because we’re not looking for discount wholesale.
We’re proactively inviting antiques, collectable dealers, local artisans and craftsman, growers and farmers to create a unique mix of locally grown and created things,` said Thompson. `We’re giving these people an outlet, a real good outlet, to expose their products to the community at large.`
Thompson and his wife are open market-type connoisseurs, visiting their favorites every summer and fall, like a big antique show at the Washington County Fairgrounds and a similar one in Cape Cod.
`[My wife] said there’s nothing like that around here. There are shows but no regular, fun, weekly market to go to,` said Thompson. `There are farmers markets but now it will have antiques and collectable too.`
The drive-in market almost didn’t happen, when a drive-in in Queensbury was resistant to Thompson’s proposal.
`They weren’t receptive because of some aspects we wanted to build in to make it a fun community thing,` said Thompson.
The Malta Drive-In Theatre owners jumped on board, though.
`It’s something a number of drive-in theaters have done [before] and it’s very compatible with a drive-in theater because it’s able to have spots for vendors as well as parking for consumers,` said Ed Caro, owner.
Caro said the facility was already established, with restrooms and a snack bar, so he couldn’t see any drawback to building on what’s already a community staple.
`It would be good for the community,` said Caro. `We’ll make some money off of the event itself and more people will become familiar with the drive-in theater and furniture store in front.`
Once `bureaucratic issues` like a land use variance (that would allow the property to be used for something other than a drive-in) was taken care of, the real work began.
`The more we investigated [the idea] the more it sounded like a lot of fun,` said Thompson.
Thompson went beyond securing actual vendors and decided to find a way for the market to give back to the community he hoped would patron it.
`We’ll charge admission based on a per car basis, $3, but 100 percent of that revenue will go to a local non-profit or school,` said Thompson.
For example, the Ballston Spa High School Senior Class is set to benefit from one Sunday’s business. Members of the senior class (and any future organization chosen) will work the market and receive all collected admission in return.
`They’ll be responsible for admitting the cars, showing the cars where to park and work the event,` said Thompson. `It’s a good opportunity for us to create this market, not only so vendors have a fun place to get their stuff accessible but so local organizations can be involved in the hopes that organizations involved in working the event, their family and friends will want to come as well. It’s a double-edged sword.`
The fundraising aspect of Thompson’s venture stems from his 16 years working in professional sports, most recently for the Adirondack Phantoms.
`I was responsible for putting on events and getting people to come to them,` said Thompson.
The Malta Drive-In Market’s grand opening is Sunday, May 22. There are already about 35 interested vendors but Thompson is hoping to find between 50 and 75 to display.
`I’d like to get to 100 but 50 and 75 is a good place to start,` said Thompson.
Vendors can sign up for different passes: a monthly pass to display one Sunday per month, a season pass to display every week or a single pass to display one time.
Thompson is confident he’ll reach his beginning goal because news of the new market is buzzing.
`I had a guy call yesterday who makes his own soap and a guy called me today from Maple Valley Farms,` said Thompson. `We’ll have an interesting mix. There’s a guy doing muffins and someone doing jewelry, a comic book dealer and some antiques.`
Anyone interested in manning a booth at the market can find Thompson’s contact information online at www.maltadriveinmarket.com.
The Malta Drive-In Market will satisfy Thompson’s desire for an open-market in the area, but he wants the venture to go a step further and find its place as a favorite summer destination.
`There are a lot of attractions in the area that are well known and loved that come up every season, and we want to be on that list,` said Thompson. `We want to be that fun thing for families to do on a weekend in the summer months.`
The market will be open Sundays from May 22 through early October. The Malta Drive-In Theatre is located on Route 9 and is open from the last weekend in April until September.
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