AUGUSTA -- "This is a drop in the bucket compared to the 2 million cards I've got in my cellar at home," said Jeff Theriault, gesturing to his shelves of thousands of trading cards behind him.
Theriault was one of 156 vendors at the Augusta Civic Center on Saturday for Augusta's Largest Indoor Flea Market, which runs through Sunday afternoon.
He is a Waterville-based sports memorabilia collector of nearly 50 years, whose collection includes everything from baby photos of Babe Ruth and century-old, one-of-a-kind football card test prints to vintage Chinese basketball magazines and medicine advertisements from the 1880s.
"It's about the history. It's about the history of the card but of the teams and the players, too," Theriault said. "That's what fascinates me. That's why I've got so much of the stuff."
The flea market had drawn several hundred customers by noontime Saturday, which event promoter Gary Poulin described as a strong showing considering it was only the second time the flea market had been held.
"I mean, it's not even noon and the parking lot is full. Come on," Poulin said. "This has been a really good event and the day's not even halfway through."
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People are seen Saturday shopping for and selling items at Augusta's Largest Indoor Flea Market held at the Augusta Civic Center. The flea market continues Sunday from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. at 76 Community Drive in Augusta. Anna Chadwick/Morning Sentinel
Throngs of vendors selling everything from vintage dolls and jewelry to 3D-printed toys and miniature cars lined the Civic Center's floors and hallways.
One vendor, Bill Bishop of Skowhegan, was selling about a dozen vintage guitars, mandolins, trombones, drums and more.
Bishop works both as a self-described "stringed instrument sales and repairman" and an Elvis impersonator, both jobs he's been doing for nearly his entire life.
"I snuck into a club in Nashville, (Tennessee) where I grew up, age 14 but they didn't check IDs back then, so I went out to celebrate my birthday," Bishop said. "I went home that night with $42 in my pocket in tips just from singing Elvis songs. I thought 'Maybe I'm on to something,' and have been doing it ever since."
Bill Bishop talks Saturday about vintage guitars he has for sale at Augusta's Largest Indoor Flea Market held at the Augusta Civic Center. The flea market continues Sunday from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. at 76 Community Drive in Augusta. Anna Chadwick/Morning Sentinel
Though all of the guitars for sale Saturday were "fixer-uppers" he'd accumulated over the years to restore and resell, Bishop said he had played each one on stage at some point.
Vendors had traveled from all corners of Maine, from Ellsworth to Scarborough, for the event, Poulin said.
Organizers say they plan to hold two more indoor flea markets at the Augusta Civic Center next year, one in July and one in November.
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