The first day of the open air Belle Air Market drew a steady stream of visitors Sunday to Bel Air's Armory Marketplace, marking the business debut of the revamped garages behind the Reckord Armory.
"It's been incredible, a steady traffic. For the first two hours, we had 500 people come through," organizer Jenny Falcone, of Jenny Bird Designs, said. "The vendors seem really thrilled. Right now, we have 17 vendors and I already have 14 signed up for June."
The market, to be held from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. the second Sunday of each month from May to October, will be "a seasonal open air market featuring antiques and finely crafted artisan items," according to the Bel Air Downtown Alliance, which also helped coordinate the event.
The vendors were not actually using the freshly-painted Armory garages yet, as tents were set up in front of the spaces instead. Falcone explained she is still working on moving vendors into the garages.
"We want to incorporate these beautiful new garages that they renovated," she said, adding: "We knew this had the potential of being really big and a really exciting event."
Besides various crafts and gifts vendors, Street Boutique Fashion Truck and La Cakerie offered specialty clothing and desserts out of their trucks. Chris Maggitti played classical guitar in Frederick Ward Park as people strolled in.
The market is sponsored by The Painted Mill of Fallston.
Falcone, a Bel Air High School graduate and Abingdon resident, said she expects the turnout to double or triple going forward.
"We are hoping this will get as big as the [Maryland State] BBQ Bash," she said, referring to the town's biggest annual event.