If You Like Big Yard Sales, This Weekend Is For You

For those who love sorting through garage sales from dawn to early afternoon, Saturday will offer a few events that are sure to please. 

The 10th annual Community Fair and Charity Parking Lot sale at is one event that promises to offer a wide array of goods for sale. Families whose children call the center their day time home will pluck items fresh from their homes to sell, giving the proceeds to charity. For owner of The Village Early Learning Center, Susan Miller, the parking lot sale has grown in leaps and bounds over the years.

"We got the idea when we saw a friend do the same thing and it has become a tradition that our community remembers every year," Miller said. "We've learned how to organize it now and we get calls in the weeks leading up to this event making sure we're doing our garage sale again."

The Village's event has attracted hundreds to the parking lot of the Learning Center to buy items ranging from furniture to kitchenware and odd knickknacks. 

"We have 177 families that are members here and at least half of those participate by bringing something to the sale so that's a lot of used household items," Miller said. "One year someone sold some coconut husk voodoo heads. It's always interesting to see what we'll get out here because you have some people that just clean out a closet while others are clearing out for a move or a remodel."

The parking lot sale is part of the Village's efforts to raise money for the Families of Spinal Muscular Atrophy (FSMA) and has been a success in the past. Last year, the sale alone raised $800 of the $3,000 that was raised during the week long fundraising effort. This year, Miller expects the numbers to be even higher.

"This year we sold booths for local businesses so that they could reach out to members of the community," Miller said. "With that addition to the sale, we're confident that we can generate even more. We have food and a DJ so the draw for the event is even better than just the sale."

The Village isn't only the charity yard sale in the area, however. P.A.W.S. of Hillsborough County will also hold an Animal Charity Yard Sale, 10952 Browning Road, Lithia. There will be furniture, antiques, collectibles, household items and new pet toys available. All proceeds from the event will go toward saving animal lives.

"We're not getting the donations we used to because of the economy so we've started doing these sales every month," P.A.W.S. executive director Peggy Wenzel said. "We hope to raise $1,000 to help carry us through to the next month. We have a lot of animals that need adopting and medical care so we have to come up with things like this to generate the money it takes to care for them."

Boyette Springs on Boyette Road will also hold a community sale on Saturday from 8 a.m. until noon. Households in the subdivision will be selling items from their homes in their driveways. Those having sales will have signs by every entrance pointing interested buyers toward their sales.

For more information on the sale, visit www.bshoa.org.