SeeCalifornia.com

By C. MacDonald

There’s something refreshingly different about the Orange County Market Place (ocmarketplace.com) on the OC Fairgrounds that you won’t find at your usual Swap Meets, Flea Markets or Farmers’ Markets. You might see Elvis impersonators, Irish dancing, stilt walkers, kiddie carnival rides, acres of free parking, over 1,000 vendors selling just about everything you can imagine and more than 50,000 customers on many weekends (except when the OC Fair is in session).

The OC Market Place is clean; it’s fun; it has a family atmosphere; delicious food and drink and enthusiastic entertainment that will draw you back time and time again. No wonder a USA Today columnist recently called it, “…probably the most unique and successful Swap Meet in the country.” Come and see for yourself.

A major reason for its festive aura and success is because of its founder, the imaginative Bob Teller, who was able to convince the right officials that a Market Place made sense and would not only delight its guests at the largely unused fairgrounds but bring in significant, much-needed funds to the state. Teller’s friendly and knowledgeable son, Jeff, now runs the show, helping bring the magic to life on the weekends.

It’s funny how Bob got into the game in the first place. In 1957, he and his girlfriend, Rita (who would later become his wife), did not even know what a “Swap Meet” was when they saw a man in Phoenix painting those words on a sign. Read more…>

Bob Teller and son, Jeff Teller (right) celebrate the Woodstock Festival at Orange County Market Place.