PORT TOWNSEND — Bargain hunters will have an opportunity to troll for treasure during the 13th annual JeffCo Community Garage Sale at the Jefferson County Fairgrounds on Saturday.
“This is a great sale,” said Virginia Crandall, a fair board member whose job it is to price items for the fair association’s portion of the sale.
“We really have a variety of things for people.”
The sale takes place from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the fairgrounds, 4907 Landes St., Port Townsend.
Admission is free, although early bird bargain hunters can purchase a $10 VIP pass that will gain them entry at 8:15 a.m.
Some 1,500 to 2,000 people are expected to attend the sale, said Sue McIntire, who manages the fairgrounds along with her husband, Bill McIntire.
The event has two components.
One sale, which will be in the cat building, is sponsored by the Jefferson County Fair Association, which collects donations of goods to raise money for fairground projects.
The others are by members of the community who rent space in buildings throughout the fairgrounds.
More than 40 community vendors will offer a wide range of goods, including tools, household goods, books, clothing, antiques and collectibles, DVDs and cassettes, electronic equipment and toys.
Community vendors pay booth rentals and are not required to share profits with the fair, which operates without subsidies, Sue McIntire said.
The sale operated by the fair is used to generate funds for fairground improvements and usually raises about $2,000 a year, she said.
“This money allows us to buy the things that we can’t afford in our budget,” she said.
“We’ve bought a new stove and new tables. In the future, we might buy a new refrigerator or whatever need comes up.”
McIntire said she can never predict what items will be hot or cold.
“One year, a guy was selling furniture and everything went quickly. The next year, he didn’t sell anything at all,” she said.
“A few years ago, there were lots of basic essential stuff because that was when the economy really tanked,”she added.
“Then it became more frivolous stuff.”
McIntire said tools and collectibles always do well.
Crandall has a basic pricing formula: a bag of clothes for $1 and uniform prices for books, DVDs and CDs.
But she said she often spends a lot of time determining the value of a collectible item.
To do so, she finds the item online and determines what it is selling for, then slices the price in half or more.
This year, she found a stuffed Disney bear that was bringing in $200 on eBay and priced it at $75.
Community vendors can still sign up today, McIntire said.
Costs are $50 for a 10-foot-by-10-foot space or $100 for a 10-foot-by-20-foot space.
Inside 10-foot-by-10-foot spaces in an unheated building are $30.
An outside tailgate space is also $30.
Donations to the fair association sale also will be accepted today at the cat building.
The Community Garage Sale is one of four annual fair-sponsored events to support the fair and fairgrounds.
The others are the JeffCo Expo on April 26-27, the Jefferson County Fair on Aug. 8-10 and the Holiday Fair on Nov. 1-2.
For more information, call 360-385-1013 or email jeffcofairgrounds@olypen.com.
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Jefferson County Editor Charlie Bermant can be reached at 360-385-2335 or cbermant@peninsuladailynews.com.
