Columbia Record Fair mixes vinyl browsing, beer and music

Greater Columbia Record Fair Day, Sunday, April 26, is about having a good time as much as it is about finding that special slice of vinyl.

Sure there will be dozens of vinyl vendors at the event Sunday at Columbia Museum of Art. But there’s also a pop-up beer garden set up by The Whig, food from KC Hotdogs and the Belgian Waffle Truck, live and DJ music. You could stroll through the record fair for hours, leave empty-handed and still have a good time.

Of course, the vendors would like you to spend a few bucks (entry is free), but you won’t feel badgered into buying anything. That’s not the vibe.

Local musician Christopher Bickel has been to plenty of other record conventions and “in general, I’ve found them to be rather depressing affairs,” he said. The vendors, he added, often are jaded and offer over-priced goods.

The Columbia event, now in its eighth year, by contrast has “a very positive atmosphere of fun and enjoyment. Everyone seems happy to be there, and it attracts novice collectors as much as the old die-hards.”

That’s what Matt Bradley had in mind when he started the local event fair in 2007. “I was going to record fairs and they were stuffy and not much fun,” he said. “It was a lot of old-timers in hotel convention centers pontificating on records no one cared about any more.”

The Museum of Art has a different feel than a convention center. The smaller display space plays into Bradley’s quest to bring in vendors with more focused interests. The 30 or so vendors still cover nearly every genre.

The increasing interest in vinyl records has made for an interesting crowd dynamic. Some of the older folks come to relive their youth while thumbing through old albums, and they often end up turned on to some of the newer vinyl music. At the same time, younger people are discovering the older albums and adding to their collections of current vinyl.

If you go: The Record Fair is noon-5 p.m. Sunday at the Columbia Museum of Art at 1515 Main St. Entry is free for the fair as well as most of the wonders in the museum, though there is a separate charge to see the Charles Courtney Curran exhibit of Impressionsts paintings.

Joey Holleman

This story was originally published April 22, 2015 at 8:00 AM with the headline "Columbia Record Fair mixes vinyl browsing, beer and music."