Rotary Volunteers were busy preparing in the lead up to the garage sale and during the sale itself.
(From left) Rotary garage sale volunteers Dean Mac Mullen, Mike Bykowski, Gustavo Rattmann and Mike Webb.
Just under $16,000 was brought in on the opening night at this year’s 10th Annual Rotary Garage Sale on April 20 - 22 at the Vermilion Curling Rink.
“We had our best first night ever! We have been blessed the whole way through with generous donations. We have reached our target of raising the similar amount of what we raised last year. Holy man there was a huge amount of people on the first night! The generosity of this community never ceases to amaze me! We have received more items than ever this year, many of high quality,” said Rotary Garage Sale Chair Brenda Lee.
Crowds of eager bargain hunters waited outside the doors prior to opening to see what bargains and treasures were up for grabs.
“This year received the largest amount of donations from the community which has translated into our largest garage sale in the ten years we have been in existence. We had between 75 - 80 volunteers altogether to pull this off!
We are very humbled by the amount of generous donations from the community, as well as the amount of people that came to shop. We plan on recycling some of the leftover items to limit waste and keep it out of the landfill.
(Pictured) Vermilion Rotary Club members and volunteers.
The Pavilion was packed with donations and the heavily stocked tables ran from one end of the room to the other.
Tables were categorized by items; this made it easier for shoppers to find what they were looking for. Items were not priced and an offer was all that was requested from buyers. If buyers were unsure of the value, a volunteer would suggest a price and in some cases buyers upped the suggested price.
People dropped off trailer loads of donations in the weeks leading up to the sale and pickups were arranged to make it easy for seniors who wanted to donate but who were unable to get the items there themselves.
Unsold items from the garage sale will be donated to various local charities including the 4-H Sheep Club, the Community Closet, Olive Tree, Canine Action Group, Books for Belize, St Jerome’s Carnival and the Islay Extended Care Auxiliary.
This year’s Garage Sale was held entirely inside the Vermilion Curling Rink. One end of the rink to the other was jam-packed with items ranging from furniture to vintage collectibles.
Photos Marie Conboy