The 30th annual Old Court House Museum Flea Market, Oct. 6, will feature more than 140 vendor booths covering a full city block around the museum.

The event, along with the 18th annual Vicksburg Main Street Fall Festival and the Bricks and Spokes bike ride, will highlight the first weekend in October.

Old Court House Museum curator Bubba Bolm said the flea market will offer shoppers an assortment of crafts and gifts from which to choose, including wood furniture, stained glass, pottery, handmade clothing, candles, baby items and Christmas decorations.

“One of my favorite vendors at the flea market is the little man from Pleasant Grove Alabama, who sells squirting lizards,” Bolm said. “He makes them out of coat hangers and they spit at you.”

Bolm said vendors from Arkansas also will setup shop at the flea market, but most of the vendors are from Mississippi.

A couple of local knife- makers have come for the past two years.

“They make knives out of beautiful woods, bone and all types of metal,” he said.

Another local vendor, Cason Shaffer, said he comes each year with his two sons to sell old bottles, books, coins, civil war relics and stamps.

“We have one woman who comes back each year to get stamps for her mother,” he said.

Bolm said Shaffer is credited for coming up with the idea of holding the annual flea market to benefit the museum.

About $60,000 has been raised over the 30 years, Shaffer said.

Bolm said Leslie Criss, a long-time newspaper journalist, will also have a vendor booth set up and will be selling her book, “Still and Yet,” a compilation of newspaper columns, many written for The Vicksburg Post.

Shaffer said he had seen some changes over the years but there is always someone there selling honey and jelly at the annual event.

When shoppers need a refueling, Bolm said 15 food booths will be set up on Monroe Street selling food items like gumbo, barbecue and funnel cakes.

“That’s where all the good smells will be coming from,” he said.

Many of the food vendors come from local churches and schools raising money for their organizations.

Bolm said he expects around 6,000 shoppers and encourages people to come out and have a fun time.

For more information, call 601-636-0742 or visit societyhistorica@bellsouth.net.

Also planned for the weekend is the 18th annual Vicksburg Main Street Fall Festival, which kicks off at 7 p.m. Oct. 5, at the Riverstage Plaza, 1300 Washington St., with free concerts by Slaphappy and Osgood and Blaque.

The 3rd annual Bricks and Spokes bike ride begins at 8 a.m. Oct. 6, with riders beginning at the Vicksburg Senior Center, traveling across the Old Mississippi River Bridge and back to the center. The event will feature 10- , 30- and 50-mile routes.

The fall festival will resume at 10 a.m. Oct. 6, and include sidewalk sales, children’s activities, dance exhibitions and the Vicksburg Farmers’ Market.

Alaina Lipe, Vicksburg Main Street Program assistant director, said a battle of the bands contest is scheduled for 1 p.m. Entries will be competing for a first place cash prize of $100 and a chance to open RiverFest 2013.

The contest is sponsored by Vicksburg’s 2013 RiverFest board, and judges will include one RiverFest board member, a local radio personality and a surprise guest.

For more information, visit www.RiverFestms.com.

Vicksburg Main Street Program director Kim Hopkins said the Alcorn nursing program will offer free health checks along with the fire and police departments discussing such topics as fire safety with the children and neighborhood watch tips.

For more information, visit www.downtownvicksburg.org or Main Street’s Facebook page.

Events for the Oct. 5-6 weekend

• Fall Festival — The 18th annual Downtown Fall Festival begins at 7 p.m. Oct. 5 at the Riverstage Plaza, 1300 Washington St., with a free concert by Osgood and Blaque and Slap-Happy. The festival resumes at 10 a.m. Oct. 6, with sidewalk sales, children’s activities, exhibitions and music. For more information, call 601-634-4527 or visit www.downtownvicksburg.org.

• Flea Market — The 29th annual Old Court House Flea Market is from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Oct. 6. Vendors selling arts and crafts, collectibles, plants, antiques and food will set up around the Old Court House, 1008 Cherry St.

For more information, call 601-636-0741 or visit societyhistorica@belllsouth.net.

• Bricks and Spokes — The 3rd annual Bricks and Spokes ride begins at 8 a.m. Oct. 6, with riders beginning at The Vicksburg Senior Center, 801 South St. Registration is $40 and the ride is open to all skill levels. For more information or to register, call 601-634-4527 or visit www.raceonline.com.