In fact, it’s more likely that you’ve already walked its paths lined with jewelry-laden tables and smiling vendors offering antique furniture or artisan goods made by hand.
Honestly, I wouldn’t be surprised if your favorite vintage leather jacket came from RH Factor’s carefully curated selection, or if your living room walls look like they’re sponsored by Vintage Printage (you can never have too many posters made from 1970 editions of Rolling Stone magazine).
You’ve probably experienced the sensory bliss that is scarfing down a lamb gyro with greek yogurt, tomatoes, red onions and oregano fries from Kalamaki Greek Street Food truck while watching local musicians tear up a live set on the Greenway Amphitheater.
Or maybe, if you have a sweet tooth like me, you’ve grabbed a chocolate coconut cream milkshake from the 100% vegan food truck Govinda’s Veggie Bomb to sip while you shop.
So I won’t explain the Melrose Trading Post to you. You clearly already know and love it. (If you don’t know it, learn more here! If you have suggestions, let us know here!) We’re lucky to know you, too.
However—you might be missing out on a big part of the Melrose Trading Post’s story. According to the results of our recent survey, at least 50% of our customers don’t know the magic behind this vibrant flea market.
Do you?
“Are you aware of who runs the Melrose Trading Post?”
Well, my friends—it’s time to solve the mystery.
“The Melrose Trading Post is so awesome. I wonder who’s in charge of putting on this event every Sunday?”
The Melose Trading Post is operated by Greenway Arts Alliance.
“Oh, okay. So that must be some giant, uncaring corporation, right?”
NO! Greenway Arts Alliance is a community-based nonprofit organization whose mission is to unite communities through art, education and social entrepreneurship.
“Wow! I had no idea. How does the Melrose Trading Post help Greenway Arts Alliance to accomplish those goals?”
In exchange for admission and vendor fees, the Melrose Trading Post offers our customers a constantly evolving experience and local creative small business owners a place to sell their unique wares. Greenway Arts Alliance then uses those fees for good. We award grants to Fairfax High School organizations for sports equipment, beautification projects, teacher programs, theater productions, and more.
“Wow. So every time I come to the Melrose Trading Post to buy a cute hand-painted desk planter from Souilless, I’m actually supporting the most successful ongoing social enterprise program in the history of Los Angeles Unified School District?”
You sure are.
“I’m going to come back every Sunday. Now that I know I’m supporting the arts with my shopping, I’m going to finally grab that three panel film reel of the Godfather Trilogy that JM Film Resins turned into an art object.”
Have fun! While you’re there, don’t forget to check out Melrose Mornings, our curated programming series for families.
“Wait a minute! I want to know more about Greenway Arts Alliance’s work. Can you tell me about what they’ve done so far?”
Sure thing! Greenway Arts Alliance has accomplished much since its founding in 1997.
2018 – $229,106.84 Still with me? Good for you! You’ve made it this far! $221,566 funded after-school drama, dance, and film classes, and in-school arts integration, film, Shakespeare, literature, poetry, and dance classes through the Greenway Institute for the Arts. Fairfax students graduated as artistically developed, confident individuals. The Journalism Club printed two editions of […]
2017 – $223,516.67 Remember Inkslam? I’ll give you a hint—we first mentioned it in 2009. Well, don’t get too attached to the name. In 2017, Greenway’s annual poetry festival expanded to provide a month-long programming and was renamed the LA Get Down Festival. Happy Birthday, Greenway! This year, the organization turned 20 years old. Greenway […]
2016 – $741,143.67 Greenway welcomed the new year with a new initiative called GreenwayREADS. GreenwayREADS is an ongoing collaboration between Greenway Arts Alliance’s three departments—Greenway Institute for the Arts, Greenway Court Theatre and the Melrose Trading Post—and Fairfax High School. The program involves “a community reading of a pre-selected novel. High school students engage […]
2014 – $484,154 Big year, 2015. Big year for the Melrose Trading Post, for Greenway Arts Alliance, and for Fairfax High. Firstly, a hefty $146,435 was deposited into Fairfax’s own donation account. A clerical position in the school’s office was filled and paid for with $55,340. The principal’s discretionary fund was filled with $51,940. $500 […]
2014 – $223,292.15 Out with the old, and in with the new. In 2014, Greenway Arts Alliance created new logos to better represent its programming. Greenway Arts Alliance created an arts accessibility initiative, Greenway Go. The program was designed to increase arts programming at Greenway Court Theatre, opportunities for arts education through Greenway Institute for […]
2013 – $235,793.27 In 2013, the love for I Love Lucy, Live on Stage continued. Greenway Court Theatre’s production went on a national tour! After-school drama, dance, and film classes were thriving, along with in-school film, Shakespeare, poetry, and dance classes. Collectively, totaling $106,248 in programming from Greenway. To ensure the development of Fairfax High […]
2012 – $2,064,296 Yep, you heard that right. Greenway did $2,064,296 worth of goodness in 2012. Oh, did they only do it because they thought the world was ending? Nope! Greenway just truly loves to give. How is this number possible? Well, business for the Melrose Trading Post was pretty good. In 2012, the Melrose […]
2011 – $185,204.36 What did Greenway do with 185,204 dollars? I’ve got some splainin’ to do. And don’t worry, I’ll even account for the 36 cents. In 2011, Greenway paid homage to one of the greats—Lucille Ball. The audience adored the Rick Sparks-directed I Love Lucy, Live on Stage, when the sold-out show premiered at […]
2010 – $415,000 – In 2010, Greenway Arts Alliance revamped its Arts Education program and renamed it Greenway Institute for the Arts. Lions became journalists when Eye of the Lion, Fairfax High’s student news show, was produced and broadcast on campus. $165,000 went to the after-school and in-school drama, poetry, and film classes, but this […]
2009 – $424,568 – You know how every year, you read about the awesome after-school drama and film classes, and the cool in-school classes like film and Shakespeare? This year, $174,568 funded those again, but Greenway also tried something new. The Arts Education program added dance and poetry programming to their roster. In addition, Inkslam, […]
2008 – $512,273.94 – Wow. That’s a big number. With only ten years under its belt, Greenway Arts Alliance has done a pretty great job so far, wouldn’t you say? In 2008, Good Bobby, a world premiere play about Bobby F. Kennedy by Brian Lee Franklin, opened at Greenway Court Theatre. Greenway also contributed $260,700 […]
2007 – $303,842 – Congratulations, Darin Dahms! Dahms directed Greenway Court Theatre’s production of Butterflies of Uganda: Memories of a Child Soldier, and received an NAACP award, Best Director, for his work. The play was lauded for its treatment of the emotional subject matter. After that strong start to 2007, Fairfax students celebrated as well […]
2006 – $230,456 – Welcome to 2006! This year, Greenway continued their dedication to the dramatic arts. Do you remember Permanent Collection, the play detailed in the post about 2005? Wow, you have a great memory! Well, one year later, Greenway Court Theatre’s production of the show became part of the Center Theatre Group season […]
2005 – $199,398.00 – 2005 was a big year for drama. Greenway Court Theatre had a huge hit. They co-produced Tom Gibbon’s Permanent Collection with Robey Theatre Company. It was a critical and audience favorite, with Variety Magazine‘s review quoted as saying, “Based on the travails of the Barnes Foundation outside of Philadelphia, […]
2004 – $184,098 – In 2004, Student-produced Public Service Announcements (PSAs), were created by Greenway’s in-school film program, Voices Unheard. The PSAs were handpicked for national broadcast. In addition, the Melrose Trading Post started getting more recognition in the media. The flea market was featured in 2004 print editions of Lucky, Vogue, Jane, […]
2003 – $173,421 – Happy fifth birthday to the Melrose Trading Post! MTP celebrated five successful years and an expansion resulting in 160 vendors and employing eighteen Fairfax students who lead hundreds of weekly volunteers. The Fairfax students also had much to celebrate, as the senior class got scholarships from GAA totalling $30,000. […]
2002 – $262,863 – 2002 brings us our biggest yearly total yet. Part of that $262,863 total went to a new expense—the Parent Center. This endeavor needed $18,720 for staffing, $5,000 to create the phone line, and $1,000 for supplies. The drama program put $181,000 to good use for after-school drama, film classes, […]
2001 – $185,685 – Greenway Arts Alliance kept up their streak in 2001! Drama was supported yet again, with $171,361 contributed to after-school drama, after-school film classes, and film literacy classes in the school’s regular curriculum. An additional $2,200 was afforded to the drama club for sets and costumes. Greenway Court Theatre […]
2000 – $147,569 – Welcome to the new millennium! 🪩 Greenway Arts Alliance had a pretty great year—which means that Fairfax High School had a great year, too. The completed Greenway Court Theatre opened with a fantastic production: “Caught in the rupture between past and future, an ensemble of characters search desperately for rebirth: […]
1999 – $448,524 – In 1999, Whitney and Pierson continued their work with the Greenway Court renovation. The Greenway Court Theatre was finished with a further $369,219. This year, GAA again showed support for the athletic department of Fairfax High. In uniforms alone, the soccer team received $1,772, the football team $5,539, the basketball […]
1998 – $199,188 – Greenway Arts Alliance (GAA)’s outreach seriously got going in 1998, with its contributions for the year totaling $199,188. That’s a pretty big number! Let’s see what went into it. One of the biggest projects started when Whitney and Pierson stumbled upon an abandoned building named Greenway Court, originally constructed by […]
1997 – The Beginning – Our journey started in the Fall of 1997. Whitney Weston and Pierson Blaetz, the founders of Greenway Arts Alliance, proposed the concept of establishing a partnership between their arts nonprofit and Fairfax High. On Sunday, October 26, 1997, the weekly flea market known as the Melrose Trading Post […]
