Embrace Diversity, Innovation at the Washington State Swap Meet

The second annual Washington State Swap Meet is coming to East Wenatchee.

Just as she did last year, local businesswoman and media consultant Nikki Darling will be hosting an end-of-summer shopping bonanza. Darling is the founder of an eponymous, Wenatchee-based telecoms company.

The swap meet is expected to attract a motley assortment of vendors; some specialize in handmade crafts, others in collectibles. Sponsors include East Wenatchee itself and Ridgeline Graphics, a mom-and-pop retailer that handles print jobs and printing services. (Click here for a complete list of sponsors.)

There will be live entertainment and craft beer, as well as a scaled-down market just for child entrepreneurs.

North Central Washington is increasingly diverse – that goes for the business climate as well. Darling says she aspires to a pluralistic, multicultural swap meet.

“We’d like to have it be a cross-section and a reflection of what our community is offering. It might not be all-inclusive, but we try as much as possible.”

The primacy of economic diversity is not lost on Darling. She says that lower-income people deserve a seat at the table. Hence the Vendor Scholarship Program, which waives vendor fees for those under financial duress.

According to Darling, this is partly a celebration of small business innovators and partly a showcase for the peerless natural beauty of North Central Washington.

“The purpose of the swap meet, really, is to bring small business, merchants, organizations, nonprofits together from all over,” Darling says. “To bring them to our region – because it is a beautiful area and region.”

The event kicks off on Friday, 8 a.m., at Eastmont 4-Plex. It concludes on Sunday at 3 p.m. Admission is totally free.

Click here to access the vendor and exhibitor application, which is still active.