Community Yard Sale Ready to Go for Saturday
The Senior Community Commission provided an update on next Saturday’s Community Yard Sale, which still has plenty of room for those who want to rent a space for a booth, and approved a few expenditures for the Hart House Senior Center
By Justin Chapman, Sierra Madre Patch, 6/6/2011
Everything's a go for next Saturday's Community Yard Sale, announced Susan Clifton, the Recreational Coordinator for Senior Services, at Thursday afternoon's Senior Community Commission meeting.So far 10 booths have been rented out and paid for as of Wednesday night, according to Clifton, leaving plenty of room for anyone who wants to participate by either donating items to be sold or by renting out their own space for a booth.
The Senior Commission will have its own booth that people can donate larger items to the day of the June 11 yard sale or smaller items beforehand at the Community Recreation Office, located at 611 E. Sierra Madre Blvd. The booth will be staffed by most of the commissioners, all of whom have volunteered to help in some way, either by donating items to sell, lending items such as tables, shelves and clothing racks to display items for sale, or by taking turns manning the booth.
"Things are moving along and everything's on course for Saturday's yard sale," said Clifton. "I think there will be a good showing and it will pique a lot of interest. I know I've taken some phone calls and we're starting to get some calls from people who are not necessarily wanting a booth but wanting to give something to (the commission's booth). A work order has gone in for some of the barricades and necessary tables and chairs that we'll be using and the canopy for the commission's booth. We've been doing different types of PR with the eBlast and a press release, among other things."
She said what was interesting is that some of the people who reserved spots early are from out of town, including as far away as Alhambra and San Dimas. That was an indication to her that the word is getting out there about this event.
The yard sale will take place from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. in the parking lot of the Sierra Vista Park next to City Hall. The cost to rent a space for a booth is $25, which will help pay for senior programs and activities, such as the renovation of the Hart Park House Senior Center and other events approved by the Senior Commission, such as the annual Seniors Rock party.
According to a city press release by Elisa Weaver, Director of Community and Personnel Services, "Participants (of the yard sale) have the opportunity to clean out their garages, attics, storage sheds and closets without sending those valuable items to (the) landfill. Participants must provide their own tables, chairs, canopies (10'x10' maximum) and cash boxes. No electricity will be provided. Live animals, large canopies, and selling food or drinks are prohibited. All business must be conducted within your space."
For those who want to participate in the Community Yard Sale, you can register online at www.cityofsierramadre.com/onlineregisteration or in person at the Community Recreation Office, located at 611 E. Sierra Madre Blvd, until spaces are filled. Other activities will be going on in the park, but parking spaces and the area of the yard sale itself will be specifically reserved and marked off beginning Friday night until after the sale ends Saturday and all the booths are removed and the parking lot is cleaned.
Additional Meeting Items
Also at Thursday's meeting, commissioners approved a list of items to be paid for by their own General Fund, including using $800 to hire musician Danny Dean along with a four-piece band to play at the upcoming Seniors Rock Concert in the Park as well as no more than $300 to pay for other expenses for that event, using another $800 to pay for a new ping pong table for the senior center after staff does more research on a quality table for that amount, and using no more than $125 to purchase one web cam and a set of speakers for one of the two computers in the senior center as a test run for seniors to use Skype to talk to long-distance relatives and friends.
At the commission's next meeting on July 7, they will discuss the reorganization of the commission following Commissioner and Vice Chair Alice Hultsman's departure this month (who received a bouquet of flowers from her fellow commissioners at Thursday's meeting, which is to be her last), more fundraising opportunities like the Seniors Rock event and a wrap up of the Community Yard Sale, an update on the Hart Park House Senior Center renovation, and the upcoming Fall Health Fair.
