EVENT FAQs

Little City Thrifty is a ticketed weekend-long event that takes place indoors twice annually in Providence, RI at WaterFire Arts Center (475 Valley Street). Each event features 90 booths of vintage dealers from New England and beyond, a bar, food and treats, a vendor-created playlist, and more.

Each event welcomes around 4,000 enthusiastic attendees who are ready to shop small and support vintage dealers.

Our goal is to curate a selection of vendors where 50% are local to the area where the market is held and the other 50% travel in for the event, stay in local hotels, network with area businesses, and create relationships in a city that is new to them. We believe in the power of building community, and that we will all be more successful if we help each other grow.

Little City Thrifty is held every March and October at WaterFire Arts Center, located at 475 Valley Street in Providence, RI.

You’ll find a wide variety of vintage and antique goods from all eras, at all price points, including clothing in all sizes, vinyl records, jewelry, accessories, art, home decor, barware, small furniture goods, and more.

Little City Thrifty is an expensive event to host (insurance, venue fees, rentals, staffing and security, photography, graphic design, etc), takes a year to plan, and our little team cannot work for free. We make a SIGNIFICANT investment in marketing all of our events - literally, all of the vendor fees. We’re committed to creating a BUSY environment where our carefully curated vendor community can succeed financially, and the vendor fees we collect are used for an extensive marketing plan, including printing and distributing hundreds of posters, (literally) thousands of postcards, printing banners, digital advertising - you get the gist. Like our vendors, we’re a small business, too, and the ticket sales are how we pay ourselves and our little team for the time we spend working on the event. Without ticket sales, this event would not exist.

Tickets for Little City Thrifty are available on our website until they sell out. LCT has sold out in advance since 2021, and we are unlikely to have tickets available at the door. If a session has sold out, it is truly sold out and we can’t sell tickets at the door. For the most up to date information about tickets, check out our social media accounts and our website.

Unfortunately, we can’t change tickets from one day or time slot to another. Tickets are not refundable or transferrable, as explained on the ticket page at the time of purchase.

Tickets are sent via email immediately after purchase - so check your spam folder if you can't locate them.

Due to extensive ticket fraud, we are unable to look up tickets at check-in unless the original ticket buyer is present and has a photo ID matching the name on the tickets. If you’re buying tickets for friends and family, great! Please be sure to send them their tickets in advance, as we can’t look them up at the door without you there.

Please note that each ticket has its own unique QR code (though they may look identical), and we’ll need to scan each QR code individually.

Unfortunately, due to extensive fraud, we can’t ever guarantee that tickets bought on the re-sale market are valid. Ticket purchasers receive tickets via email from Humanitix with QR codes that are specific to each ticket. When you are buy from resellers, you may be buying tickets that have already been sold, or re-sold, more than once. QR codes will only work one time at check-in, and if you arrive and find that the QR code on your ticket has already been used, we unfortunately will not be able to let you in. Due to capacity restrictions, we cannot make any exceptions. We recommend buying your tickets early, and directly from Humanitix.

Kids age 3 and under can attend at no cost, but kids age 4 and up do require a ticket. Children must be accompanied by adults at all times. Strollers are welcome, but please do be careful as the event is busy and does get crowded.

As tickets are not refundable or transferrable, we do not have a waitlist. Once a session sells out, it is truly sold out and no additional tickets will be released.

There is no ATM on site. Most vendors accept cash, cards and Venmo/Paypal/Cash App.

You’re welcome to leave and re-enter at any point on the same day, as long as you are wearing your wrist band.

Unfortunately not. This event is indoors, with lots of people. It is not an ideal situation for your furry friend, and our insurance policy and the venue prohibit pets and animals, including emotional support and therapy animals. Certified service dogs that are specifically trained to assist with medical needs are welcome.

You bet. LCT always has two pop-up restaurants, with vegan and gluten free options included. We also have a fun and fully stocked bar, brought to you by Inside Voices.

In most cases, yes. There may be some exceptions - vendors may not allow you to try on items that are extremely old or fragile. There are 5 popup dressing rooms provided by Little City Thrifty, and many vendors bring their own. If you use one of our dressing rooms, vendors will ask you to leave collateral (such as your driver’s license) with them until you return.

Yes, the venue is fully ADA compliant. If you have any questions or require any additional assistance, please don’t hesitate to ask.

Off-street parking is free for all attendees and vendors in the WaterFire Arts Center parking lot.

Yes, we have an incredible security team who patrols the event area while monitoring all entrances and exits. We hire non-police security who focus on calmly deescalating any situations that arise.

Little City Thrifty and WaterFire Arts Center are not responsible for any theft or loss of items at our events.

We recommend bringing a resuable water bottle (the venue has 3 water bottle filling stations, located outside all three restrooms), reusable tote bags, your measurements/a measuring tape if you plan to buy clothing, and some cash just in case a vendor you love doesn’t accept cards.

We don’t have a coat or bag check, but the WaterFire Arts Center gift shop hallway (which you’ll pass through on the way to our event entrance) usually has a coat rack or two. These racks aren’t monitored and we can’t be responsible if something goes missing.

Oh, it’s happening. At every LCT event, you’ll find a big free book swap at our check in table. Bring books to donate, and grab something new (to you) to read! Please, no bibles/textbooks/encyclopedias.

Occasionally. Send us an email at hello@littlecitythrifty.com with information about yourself/ your business and links to your website and social media accounts.

Our most important rule is: don't be a jerk. We have a zero tolerance policy for rude behavior, and we will remove you from our events immediately (and permanently) if you are disrespectful to us, our staff, the venue staff, or fellow vendors. This rarely happens, but we have to say it - so please just don't. We're here to have a good time.