MERCER — Don’t tell me this town ain’t got no heart.

Hundreds of tie-dye clad hippies poked around and gathered beneath bright blue skies on Saturday for the first ever Hippie Flea Market. They bartered with vendors at the cash-optional event, danced to live music and enjoyed the unofficial start of Maine’s festival season.

More than 300 people had arrived at the Mercer Community Center at 1014 Beech Hill Road by midday for the event. Dozens of cars were parked up and down the road and on the shoulder of U.S. Route 2 by 10 a.m., with more still trickling in.

Artist Tony Marguronis performs Saturday during the Hippie Flea Market at the Mercer Community Center. Anna Chadwick/Morning Sentinel

Organizers hope the event will become an annual one, according to Cindy Brown, event volunteer and clerk of the Friends of The Hill, the group that put on the Hippie Flea Market.

“It’s really been perfect. We couldn’t ask for better weather and people are really turning out,” Brown said. “Our goals are to bring people together, build community, and just be kind, especially in this world we’re living in where folks are just so divided and unkind to each other.

“It’s like Jerry (Garcia) said: ‘Through this world of trouble, we’ve got to love one another,'” she added.

Brown described Friends of The Hill as “organized hippies helping each other out.” The organization is a designated nonprofit that provides financial, housing and general assistance for those in need as well as community outreach events like the Hippie Flea Market.

Upwards of 60 vendors had tables at the flea market, Brown said, with an emphasis on handmade art and local businesses. Among them was Danni Meng, a blacksmith who was providing live demonstrations and selling wares at the event.

Using a homemade coal forge, Meng twisted and shaped hot steel into trinkets and hooks to be sold and bartered at the flea market. To Meng, blacksmithing and hippies represent the same ideals: Creativity, community and sharing.

Blacksmith Danni Meng demonstrates how to twist hot steel Saturday during the Hippie Flea Market at the Mercer Community Center. Anna Chadwick/Morning Sentinel

“I’ve only been doing this three years,” Meng said while heating up the coal forge. “My kids wanted to learn the craft, so we all learned together. It’s really good passing down a traditional craft like this from one generation to the next.”

One of the more unique elements of the Hippie Flea Market is that it is cash optional. Attendees are allowed to barter and trade with vendors, with many swapping food and T-shirts for tie-dye items and jewelry throughout the day.

“If somebody wants to barter, we can work something out,” Meng said. “We make trades at most of the events like this we go to. Sometimes we’ll even trade an hour or two of our time for something.”

Jessi Semprebon is a professional tie-dye artist who had more than 100 shirts for sale on Saturday along with handmade seashell and pearl jewelry. She, like many others at the event, started her business as a hobby but grew to meet demand from friends and orders online.

“I started dyeing my own shirts, mostly cute little tank tops and stuff, and it kind of just went from there,” she said. “People really liked them, all the ladies at work bought them regularly, so about two years ago I said ‘I could probably do this full time,’ and that’s just what I did.”

Events like the flea market are crucial for Semprebon and most other vendors. Not only do they allow merchants to turn a profit and sell their wares, but they build community between everyone at the event. Turnout at the Hippie Flea Market far surpassed expectations, as organizers lost count by around 11 a.m., Brown said.

“We really don’t know how many people have shown up so far, and I’ve got no idea how many are still coming,” Brown said. “But I mean, with this turnout, there’s really nothing left to do but smile, smile, smile!“

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