Loyno Flea Market raises funds for Loyola alumni and Guatemalan soccer academy
December 8, 2022
“I’m looking around and I’m seeing a community of people coming together to support our artists, and my heart feels so full,” said Loyola psychology senior Adele Colson, who organized the flea market.
Colson said she worked all semester with art history senior Mica Desimone to put together the Loyno Flea Market, and despite some funding issues, she was able to pull it off. Colson and the Loyola Costume Shop, who sponsored the event, hosted over 40 vendors and musicians last Friday to showcase their work.
“This is why we need arts programs. This is why we need community support, because our artists are here and we show up and show out,” said Colson.
The event’s main purpose was to raise funds for a student service learning project for an experimental course called “Futbol/Soccer: Cultural Texts & Contexts,” which focuses on the Tzunun’ Ya’ Youth Soccer Academy in Guatemala, according to Colson.
The event was also organized to raise funds for Ella Blue, a recent Loyola graduate who has been burdened by extensive medical expenses.
Kateri Shimansky, an environmental biology junior in the class organizing the fundraising, said that the class has been raising money all semester for the Tzunun’ Ya’ Youth Soccer Academy.
The student service learning project will take place in Guatemala next year, with students working with the soccer academy to build soccer fields for disadvantaged youth who cannot afford to play in organized soccer leagues.
Art prints, handmade crochet work, vintage clothing shops, customized jewelry, and Christmas cards were among the items being sold at the flea market.
Many Loyola artists also performed live, including Aubrey Jane’s debut, folk singer Tabitha Marie, solo vocalist Von La Rae, and a dance performance by Loyola’s K-Pop Dance Club.
Kaci Thomassie, costume director for Loyola’s theatre department, ran two tables this year at the flea market, one of them being the donation table for Ella Blue, and the other selling vintage or no longer useful items in Loyola’s theatre department.
Thomassie said that they asked all of the vendors who were participating at the flea market to donate a blue item to Blue’s fundraising table, to help cover the cost of her medical bills. She further said it was exciting to see the community’s participation at the event.
“It’s so great to see all these amazingly talented students come together and share their work,” Thomassie said. “Especially this time of the year, it’s magical,” she said.
Colson said she is graduating next spring, but hopes that she can leave the legacy of the flea market for future generations to come.
