Bargains rain on swap meet
IT WAS muddy and cold but the lure of a bargain and rare goods was too strong to resist.
Thousands of Toowoomba Swap Meet fans trudged the mud and withstood the rain at the weekend, all in the hunt for a good deal.
That’s the beauty of the annual event, organiser Trevor Hoffmann said, adding the weekend event was only the fourth to be hit by wet weather in 46 years.
“The rain has made the ground a little bit soggy, and it probably deterred a few people from coming,” Mr Hoffmann said.
“Even though it’s wet, the people are still smiling.
“We’re really fortunate; we have been doing this for 46 years and we’ve only had four wet swap meets so it’s not a bad record.
“There was 1800 stalls booked but a few of those didn’t turn up.”
About 200 display cars were parked around the Toowoomba Showgrounds ring, giving the estimated crowd of 8000 people through the gates on Saturday a glimpse at classic and prestige motoring.
Usual numbers on the first day of the two-day annual meet hover around 10,000 people, Mr Hoffmann said.
“We try to specialise in a lot of car parts and try and keep some of the flea market stuff away, and we’ve even had people call from Sydney call and ask,” he said.
“Some of the proceeds do go to charities and we also employ local groups to help us out here, so it benefits them.
“It’s always the first full week in February and it’s not to be missed.”
And the best tip is to get in early to get a bargain.