A throng of penny-pinching shoppers searching for the best deals on Whidbey Island will venture to Coupeville Elementary School this weekend.
Shoppers will line up at the starting line eagerly awaiting the horn to blow that kicks off the annual Coupeville Lions Club garage sale.
The annual garage sale takes place June 27 and June 28 in and around the school’s multipurpose room. Saturday’s sale goes from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Sunday’s sale goes from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.
“Here we go again,” Coupeville Lions Club member Dennis Bullock said, while Lions Club members volunteered to sort the items that will be sold this weekend.
Volunteers started bringing items to the elementary school June 16, which is the day after classes were dismissed for the summer break.
While no cars have been donated this year, one of the more unusual items being sold is a giant, decorative airplane, which Lions Club members salvaged from Camp Horizon near Birch Bay.
The multipurpose room was overflowing with items that browsers will sort through; everything from books to sewing machines. Volunteer Donna Brown noted the garage sale could help college-bound students.
“You could furnish a dorm here,” Brown said.
The garage sale started in 1985 and originally took place at Dean’s Auto Repair Garage, which used to be located next to the Tyee on South Main Street, Bullock said.
Volunteer Ralph Edwards, who sorts through the electronic equipment, noted how people’s buying habits have changed over the years. In the early years of the garage sale, between 15 and 20 TV sets would be sold. This year, however, he said nobody will probably buy the three sets that are available to purchase. He noticed that there are also fewer large stereo systems and VCRs available.
The garage sale virtually takes over the elementary school campus, in addition to filling the multipurpose room. Items ranging from tools, suitcases and major household appliances surround the building and furniture is placed underneath the overhangs near classrooms. The recently built covered play area is home to couches, sofas, love seats and davenports, along with chairs and recliners that are priced to sell.
The Coupeville Lions Club gathers the donated items throughout the year and stores them in a barn on Fort Casey Road.
Bullock said that the donated items also serve another important use. Collected items have been donated to families whose homes were destroyed by fire.
“That’s something we can do to serve the people in the community,” Bullock said.
He added last year’s garage sale brought in more than $30,000. The money raised from the garage sale supports a host of community groups such as the Boys and Girls Club and the Boy Scouts. It also funds service projects, including the purchase of new kitchen equipment for the Coupeville Recreation Hall.
People wishing to get a sneak peak at the items available for the weekend garage sale can attend a preview, which takes place Friday, June 26, from noon to 4 p.m.
Sale starts Saturday
Coupeville Lions Club’s Annual Garage Sale, “the biggest and best in our world,” is set for June 27 and 28, featuring tools and auto equipment, good used furniture, sporting goods, books and games, children’s toys, electronics and appliances, exercise equipment, lamps and vacs, bikes and skates, collectables and more. Items collected all year. Don’t miss this event. Preview June 26 from 1 to 4 p.m.; sale June 27, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., and June 28, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.
