Jeannie Inglis was on her way back home to Oro Station when she dropped in to check out one of roughly 30 garage sales in Shanty Bay where she found some small treasures.
“This is for my grandson,” she says, holding up a picture frame, “it’s his first birthday and I’m going to take a picture of me and him and I’m going to put it in there.”
Welcome to garage and yard sale season when once-prized items are put out for sale for others to enjoy. All across Barrie and area, homeowners converted their driveways, lawns and garages into outdoor sales floors on yet another Saturday while charities and nonprofits lay out wares in community buildings and church parking lots as a way to raise money.
Heather Oliver was among those who decided to take advantage of the community wide initiative on Barrie’s northern borders to clear out possessions that have been in storage.
The family pulled out children’s toys, decor, furniture, even a series of sinks, lining the items for sale along their driveway, gathering possessions with which they were ready to part from three households.
“We got together as a community and said: ‘Who wants to have a garage sale?’ and over 30 houses said: ‘Yes, absolutely, let’s do it',” says the Ridge Road resident.
But the event is much more than a garage sale, or a series of garage sales. It’s just another aspect of a place with a sense of community that Oliver likens to living in a Hallmark movie.
Saturday’s participants are encouraged to kick their proceeds into a pot for the next event - the annual Shanty Bay festival. The summer gathering is an opportunity for area residents and visitors to come together to check out vendors and enjoy food provided through food trucks.
Residents also have the option of supporting the Shanty Bay Nursery School.
Roger Deschamps was among those to check out what Shanty Bay residents had to offer.
Deschamps spent Saturday morning taking in the sights and stopping by garage sales to check out the offerings and chat with others out and about.
“It’s fun, you bicker,” says the Springwater Township man. “I’m not looking for anything in particular, just to enjoy and the people are friendly.”
Over in Barrie’s north end, George Zvanitajs was running a well-advertised garage sale ahead of a move to downsize.
“This is a combined effort,” he says, pointing to three generations of family all involved in the sale. “We’re getting rid of some stuff, the books and things like that.”
The house, he says, has become too big and the time has come to relocate into something smaller. But before putting the house up for sale, the goal is to clear the house out.
In Barrie’s east end, Joanne Kaattari waited patiently for the doors at Sevenoaks Academy to open for the not-for-profit Grove Park Home long-term care home fundraising book sale to start.
An hour in, she was still filling bags for $10 each with her favourite books, some of which she has previously read.
“We knew they’d have a great selection of everything we enjoy from biographies to comic books,” she says, holding up a hardcover Lord of the Rings that she’ll add to her shelf as a collectible. “You can’t beat the prices.”
Books, thousands of them, sorted by genre, were all donated and the sale was run with the help of volunteers.
The book sale was to be an annual one launched three years ago, but was interrupted by the pandemic. There was an extensive book drive and many of the books for sale were stored just for this weekend.
“It’s proved to be a successful way to do a book sale,” says Linda Muszynski of Grove Park Home. “So they grab a book bag on their way in for $10 and fill it up and they’ve got all of their summer reading.”
The book sale continues Sunday right to 4 p.m.
