There are a handful of weekends every year that feel like Casper showing off, and the Saturday of Funky Junk is one of them. I walked over to David Street Station on May 16 with Kimi a little before ten, coffee in hand, and the place was already humming. Tents stretched across the plaza, the breeze was doing that perfect spring-in-Wyoming thing where it’s brisk in the shade and warm in the sun, and somewhere a guitar was already plugged in. If you’ve never been, Funky Junk is the twice-yearly artisan market that Whitney Asay started back in 2015 out of her Funky Junk District shop on South Durbin. It outgrew the original spot years ago, and now it lands downtown at David Street Station every May and September. It has a cult following in this town for a reason.
The Scene
A hundred and twenty-plus vendors is a lot of ground to cover, and the layout at David Street Station rewards a slow lap before you start buying anything. I made that mistake one year and came home with the first thing I saw instead of the better version I spotted two rows over. Lesson learned.
The mix is what makes it work. You’ve got serious vintage and antique dealers next to makers who’ve clearly leveled up since last fall. June & Jane was set up with Sara Lou, their restored vintage van, parked right in the thick of it and pulling a crowd all day. Pure Impressions Design had a jewelry table that I lingered at longer than I’ll admit. Wyoming Love’s hand-illustrated prints are the kind of thing I wish I’d bought a stack of three years ago when nobody else was doing it. Brilliantly Bri Art was as colorful as ever, 307 Mud & Stone’s pottery looked great in the sunlight, and Burgundy Blooms had watercolors that Kimi has now requested for the office wall. The Vanishing Breed, Corra’s Crafty Creations with the little concrete planters and succulents, Feather My Head doing feather extensions for a line of teenagers — the whole spread was there.
Live music ran all day, the energy stayed up, and the crowd was the usual Funky Junk mix: locals who plan their May around this, folks in from Glenrock and Douglas, a few groups who’d clearly driven down from Sheridan. It’s the kind of event where you bump into someone you haven’t seen since the fall show and pick up exactly where you left off.
Food and Drink
Food trucks ringed the plaza, and the line I kept finding myself in was at Tacos Locos. If you’ve spent any time around Casper food trucks lately, you already know — these folks are doing it right. I grabbed al pastor and a barbacoa and ate them standing up next to a planter because there was no way I was waiting for a table. The pastor had real char on it, the salsa had heat that built instead of slapping you, and the tortillas held together the way good tortillas should. Tacos Locos is a Casper food truck worth keeping tabs on — a full review is coming to wyofood.com soon. Follow them on Facebook so you know where they’re parked next.
Craft beverages were flowing too, and if you wanted coffee instead of beer there were options for that. If you’re the type to fuel up properly before a market day — and you should be — pair Funky Junk with breakfast first. The Wooden Derrick Cafe is a short walk and exactly what you want before three hours of shopping. If you’re holding out for an early dinner after, one of the best burger joints in Casper is never far from David Street Station.
What to Bring (Tips for First-Timers)
- Bring a real bag. Vendors will hand you a plastic sack if you ask, but you’ll regret it by vendor number twelve. I use the Carhartt 32L tote in black — it’s tough enough for pottery and prints, has a flat bottom so things don’t tip, and looks the part at a market like this one. It’s the bag Kimi rolls her eyes at and then borrows by hour two.
- Cash and card both. Most vendors take cards now, but cash moves the line faster and a couple of the older antique dealers still prefer it.
- Layers. Wyoming in May means three seasons before lunch. A light jacket you can stuff in the tote is the move.
- Get there early or get there late. Ten to noon is busy but the inventory is fresh. After three is calmer but the best stuff is gone. Pick your poison.
- Bring water. The plaza is exposed and the sun is stronger than you think this time of year.
The Fall Edition Is Already on the Calendar
Funky Junk runs twice a year, and the fall show is Saturday, September 19, 2026 at David Street Station. The fall edition has a different feel — more harvest tones, more sweater weather, and the vendor mix shifts a little toward holiday gift territory. If you missed the spring show, that’s your makeup date. Keep an eye on dates and vendor announcements on the Funky Junk Facebook page.
Tag Us
If you went on Saturday, I want to see what you came home with. Tag @wyofood on Instagram or find Wyo Food on Facebook and show me the haul. This is exactly the kind of weekend that makes me glad we settled in Casper, and the more we celebrate it out loud, the bigger and better it gets.
See you in September.
— Sean