The LP Vinyl Records & CDs Fair returned to Binghamton this past Sunday to welcome a variety of people to look at different forms of physical media. Located at the Broome County Regional Farmers Market on Upper Front Street in Binghamton, the event lasted from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Admission was free within these hours but cost $5 if you came earlier at 8 a.m. for early entry.

The fair filled up the two large rooms that the Broome County Regional Farmers Market usually occupies on the weekends with four long tables in the first room and three long tables in the second room. These tables had more than just records and CDs. They also had DVDs, cassettes, VHS tapes, shirts, music books and magazines. There was even one stand with Blu-ray Discs and video games. Both rooms had overhead hanging bulb lights twinkling in crisscross formations with bright, breezy background music. Some of the vendors at the fair included Music City from Vestal, Parlor City Cards & Collectibles from Binghamton and Wayne’s World of Music originating from Dallas, Pennsylvania.

The fair had a sizable turnout with almost one person to each box at a certain point. Everyone was excited and happy to look through heaps of vinyl and CDs. Not only were the patrons excited, but there were a lot of enthusiastic record sellers who were excited to bring their records to people both young and old. One of those sellers was Don Barber, 60, who found himself selling records after buying more than he had any use for. He has been traveling to record fairs and garage sales for five years. According to Barber, vinyl may lose popularity at some point in the future, but it will never die out.

“It’s such a good physical medium,” Barber said. “You have a good poster in your hand and it’s a good size. There’s a lot of info you can read and the sound is hard to beat.”

With a growing younger crowd coming to experience vinyl- and CD-collecting, many Binghamton University students came to the event. Ivan Stanwood, an undeclared freshman, came to the event to buy CDs as a person who recently got into CD-collecting. After discovering the event on Instagram, he decided to go and expand his collection by buying albums such as “Giant Steps” by John Coltrane and “Rubber Soul” by the Beatles. Stanwood sees a value in physical media that cannot always be captured in music streaming platforms.

“There’s a lot of art to it that is tied to physical media that is lost in streaming,” Stanwood said. “Album covers are a big part of art and having an established track list.”

Stanwood elaborated that having physical media like CDs is similar to Pokémon cards because of the ability to collect them and show them to friends.

The LP Vinyl Records & CDs Fair happens in five different places each spring and fall. Last February saw the fair arrive at Syracuse and then in March it came to Utica, New York and Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. The last stop after Binghamton for the fair will be in Ithaca on May 7 at the Triphammer Marketplace. These fairs are organized and advertised by Jack Skutnik, of Binghamton, who has been doing this job for over 30 years. He sends out information to vendors and dealers throughout the Northeast to have them come to these fairs to rent out space.

Skutnik was pleased to see a younger crowd but more importantly that people were enjoying music together despite differences in age or music taste.

“99.9 percent of the people are happy to be here,” Skutnik said. “The thing that binds it all together is just music, not any particular type, just music.”