Stephen Landry|Gardner News
GARDNER — It’s that time of year when treasure seekers and spring cleaners rejoice – it’s yard sale season. This year, at least two local communities will invite shoppers and browsers to scour the community during town-wide yard sale events.
The first, in Gardner, will take place on Saturday, May 21, with the following Sunday set aside for the rain date. A few weeks later, on Saturday, June 18, the town of Westminster will host its community-wide event.
Julie Mazza, who helped organize previous events in Gardner, said she wanted to get the word out about this spring’s yard sale a little earlier than usual. The city actually hosted two city-wide yard sales last year — one in the spring and one in the fall — and Mazza said there were fewer participants for the latter event.
“I’m thinking it’s because so many people took part in the spring yard sale, so the fall numbers were down,” she said. “People didn’t need to do it in the fall again.”
She said she hopes the earlier lead time this season will allow for more households to officially sign up for the event.
“The earlier I get all the information out, the more time people have to plan, and we seem to see a big turnout,” Mazza said, adding that the online enthusiasm for the annual yard sale event is overwhelmingly positive. More than 10 families are already signed up to take part in this season’s yard sale, she said, an indication that people are responding to the positive reaction to last year’s event.
“I had people coming to my house (last year) who said they had come from an hour away because they heard about this, and that there’s nowhere in their area that ever did this,” Mazza said. “They told me to make sure they were told about the next one. People really do want to come back every year.”
Mazza said she is planning on using social media to spread the word about this season’s event, and perhaps ask some local businesses to advertise the yard sale in their establishments.
“Because this is a free event, it’s tricky, because I can’t put any money into this,” she said.
Anyone wishing to register for the Gardner yard sale should email their home address to gardneryardsale@gmail.com for more information. To obtain a free permit, go tohttps://www.gardner-ma.gov/formcenter/.
Betsy Hannula, who is organizing the Westminster event, said she is expecting the town’s spring yard sale to be a success based on two factors — residents have spent the past two years organizing their homes and they’ve had plenty of time to decide what they don’t need anymore.
“And it’s easier sometimes to put (things) outdoors and let people come and buy it, rather than trying to get it to the Salvation Army or a thrift shop or that kind of thing,” she said. “I think this is going to be a great opportunity to get the whole town involved.”
Officials at the Lions Club and the American Legion have already told yard sale organizers that their organizations will be participating in this year’s event, according to Hannula.
“This has really become a town activity, which I am excited about,” she said.
As in previous years, maps will be available to yard sale participants. In addition to including an address, participants will also have an opportunity to list the types of items available at their home.
“And that’s especially important for people who live outside of the center of town, because some of those items are what will attract certain people to their house,” Hannula said, adding that organizers will make the maps available on the morning of the event. “The reason we don’t put it out before that day is because there are some (early) pickers who will go pester people at their houses. We don’t want to pester people. This is an opportunity for people to just have fun and get rid of their stuff and make some money.”
Hannula said participating residents will be provided with a large, colorful poster to put up in front of their homes on the day of the event.
Westminster residents can register for the yard sale within a few weeks at westminsterhistoricalsociety.org/.
Some Gardner officials are looking forward to yard sale season.
“The city-wide yard sale is a great event to move the community out of winter and into spring,” said City Council President Elizabeth Kazinskas, adding that she enjoys visiting yard sales in search of treasures and the stories that go with it. “It’s a nice way to meet a new neighbor or a good reason to visit a neighborhood you may not have been to before.”
