What treasures will you find at the Kane County Flea Market?

Like longer days and crocuses, the Kane County Flea Market is a herald of spring.

Beginning in March and running through December, bargain hunters hit the Kane County Fairgrounds in St. Charles in search of treasures, large and small.

Along with markets in Oslo, Paris and London, the Kane County Flea Market has been named one of the top 10 flea markets in the world by Jetsetter Magazine. The market will be listed as the "place to shop" by August's Romantic Homes Magazine as well as making the list of the top 10 places to shop for antiques in June 2012 in USA Today.

The market, which will be open Saturday and Sunday, April 2-3, has a long history. According to manager Wanda Robinson of Lake in the Hills, her mother-in-law, Helen Robinson, who was nicknamed Queen Flea, started the original flea market in 1967 at the Wasco American Legion.

"She only had one show there and she put that on for charity," Wanda Robinson, the widow of Helen's son Philip, said. "So when she put the show together she decided, if she could do it for a charity, why couldn't she do it for a business?"

After that first show, Helen Robinson moved her flea market to the Kane County Fairgrounds, where it has remained ever since.

The show has grown over the decades since Helen, who has since passed away, made the decision to start a business. The first show had between 30 and 40 vendors compared with the 800-900 vendors the flea market hosts today. Helen's sons Frederick and Patrick are now the owners, and operate the market with help from family members.

Although a wide variety of merchandise is sold at the market, Wanda Robinson knows the primary draw for visitors is a large supply of the old and the unusual.

"I would say about 80 percent (of the vendors) have antiques and collectibles," she said.

"We have expensive antiques and we also have them in the rough," Robinson said. "Also, jewelry and glassware."

The only items that are not allowed, she said, are knock-offs - impostors or fakes of designer purses and perfumes, for example. Also, no pornography is allowed. But even without such questionable merchandise, the market's offerings are extensive.

"We have something for everyone," Robinson said.

Alongside the antiques and collectibles, there are vendors who take a different road.

"We have garden things," Robinson said. "Some bring out furniture for your garden, like the willow furniture. We have Adirondack chairs and cement statues. We have flowers. We have people who build furniture, like harvest tables."

Terry Conley of Kewanee, Illinois, travels two-and-a-half hours each way to sell his handmade furniture at the flea market.

"We have a woodworking shop in Kewanee," Conley said. "We build custom furniture: harvest tables, kitchen islands, coffee tables, sofa tables," he said.

Conley, who had a brick and mortar store until three years ago, now travels to fairs to sell his furniture, but he's found that the Kane County Flea Market brings far more customers than he can get elsewhere.

"Kane County is our big show. We get enough to keep me busy now that I'm semiretired," Conley said. "We see a lot of people. They shoot 10,000-20,000 people through there and it seems to be more money up there than there is in Kewanee.

John Heneghan of Naperville teams up with his wife Mary to sell vintage signs as well as those that Mary paints. The couple also travels to various shows with their merchandise.

"We go to art festivals in Wheaton, Hinsdale and up on the North Shore," John said.

However, the Heneghans find far more customers at the Kane County Flea Market.

"It's the busiest we've been. It's a good flow of people," John said. "It's a good location, it has good traffic and is well-known."

The flea market is no secret to customers who average approximately 5.000 entry tickets on a typical Saturday.

"Then on Sunday there could be anywhere between 5,000 and 8,000 people," Wanda Robinson said. "Plus we have the dealers and their families and we probably have another 2,000."

Whether it's antiques or handmade furniture, most visitors will agree with Conley, who said, "It's a real good place to do some shopping and find some bargains.

For details, visit www.kanecountyfleamarket.com/.

If you go

What: The Kane County Flea Market

When: First weekend of the month, March through December (always the first Sunday of the month and the preceding Saturday). Hours are noon to 5 p.m. Saturdays and 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sundays.

Where: Kane County Fairgrounds, 525 S. Randall Road, St. Charles

Admission: $5 for adults; free for children age 12 and younger. Free parking.

Details: <a href="http://www.kanecountyfleamarket.com/">kanecountyfleamarket.com</a>/