Livingston's Trade Days

Unless you own a boat, chances are a day trip to Polk County isn't on your itinerary. But that may change. For one weekend every month, the fast-growing, lakeside city of Livingston hosts a trade fair that draws vendors from across Texas and as far away as New York and California. Specialty booths like the Cast Iron Cowboy and Good Golly Miss Molly's Antiques seduce shoppers as they browse through two covered pavilions with more than 800 vendor spaces in the 200-acre Pedigo Park. Need a break from booth-hopping? The outdoor charms of the Livingston area lie only minutes away. Houston's approaching International Festival tends to satiate the trade-fair-inclined, but don't lie: Can you really live without one of Marshall Pottery's Drunken Chicken Cookers?