WEST VALLEY CITY, Utah — At the Redwood Drive-In and Swap Meet, people have discovered all kinds of treasures like toys, DVDs, tools — you name it.
But the greatest treasure attendees and vendors have found at the Swap Meet is community and belonging.
For more than 65 years, the market has been a home to drive-in movies and different vendors that draw thousands of people every weekend. In September, the West Valley City Council voted to approve the rezoning of the site. This led to the decision to close the site and instead build 40 condos and 244 townhomes.
This weekend was the Swap Meet's last.
Lilia Aguilar, who has sold at the market for 18 years, will remember the place as a home to everyone.
“This place is for everybody — it’s a tradition,” Aguilar said. “But now it’s gone and it’s all ending very quickly.”
José Barba, who is a toy collector, has visited the swap meet for 17 years. He said it’s not about the toys he finds, but about who he gets to meet when he’s at the market.
“The memories, this is what sticks with you,” Barba said. “The people you meet, the stories you share. This will be forever in my heart.”
Barba and his family have even gotten to know one of the vendors, Maria Lopez, who has sold clothes and toys at the swap meet since 1999. As a single mother, she said working at the market helped her pay bills and put food on the table for her kids.
“I’m leaving a piece of my heart here,” Lopez said. “Working at the swap meet has helped me raise all of my kids. It’s very difficult for me knowing it’s coming to an end.”
Barba said the memory of this place will live through the toys he’s collected over the years.
“Every time I look at them, I’ll remember the people I saw here,” he said. “ I’ll remember the memories I’ve created from this place.”
