What is a garage sale and do I have to have a garage?
A garage sale is where you sell items you no longer need or want from your garage, or yard or even trunk of your car. You can also sell items you have made (crafts/cooking).
When will the Fernie Spring Clean take place?
On May 24th 10am - 4pm.
Where will the Fernie Spring Clean take place?
At your house, or a neighbors if you want to share a sale, or if you don't have a suitable location to hold one. There will be many garage sales all around Fernie all on the same day.
Why should I get involved?
You may wish to hold a sale because you have lots to get rid of, it is a great chance to make a bit of extra cash, it means that your unwanted goods go to new homes and someone benefits from this, and it also helps the environment by keeping waste out of landfill.
I don't want to hold a sale, can I still get involved?
Yes we need lots of buyers on the day so don't worry if you are not holding a sale this year. There will be a great scavenger hunt for children which will mean that you get to go around many of the sales while they look for stamps.
Why do I have to pay for something I can do for free?
Your right you can hold a garage sale any time you like, however by signing up for this event you get lots of FREE advertising in The Free Press, all around Fernie, and in communities such as Cranbrook, Jaffray, Sparwood, Elkford and The Pass, meaning that there will be many more buyers coming to your sale.
Where does the money go?
The very small donation of $20 goes to The East Kootenay Brain Injuries Association to help them provide outreach work in the Elk Valley, it also goes towards your advertising and publicity for the event which will be so much greater than if you were to just do a sale and posters on your own.
What do I get for my $20 donation?
As mentioned above you get a participants pack to help you have a very successful garage sale, you get ideas about promoting your garage sale, you get regular advertising throughout May in The Free Press about the event, you feature on a map that will be in the May 22nd edition of The Free Press, so that people can come and find our garage sale, you also benefit from the large scale marketing and poster campaign that will happen on Facebook, other web sources and in local communities. Schools in the local and surrounding communities will also receive scavenger hunt forms for all their children, this will encourage families to come to Fernie just for the day to be part of the community event, see your sale and do the hunt at the same time.
What about the rest of the money I make from my sale?
You get to keep it, all of it! So you can do this for yourself, or you could choose to do it to raise money for a charity of your choice, whatever you wish. If your sale does really well, maybe you will choose to give a further donation back to the Brain Injuries Association.
I don't have enough to sell but I still want to take part
Don't worry, if you only have enough for a small table that is fine you can still take part you don't have to have a whole garage full of stuff. Another idea is to get together with a group of neighbors or friends to hold one joint sale.
What will happen with the left over stuff I can't sell?
We are very excited that we have partnered with a local charity who will be able to accept many of the left over items to be able to resell them for charity - The Salvation Army will be accepting donations until 5pm pn May 24th, The City of Fernie have also offered to do a collection of larger items in the week following the sale, you can use the Reuse centre at our local transfer station located on highway 3, or take it back inside and save it for next years Fernie Spring Clean!
What if it is raining on May 24th?
Well the 'Show must go on' as they say, so rain or shine this event will take place. If it is raining the number of people attending your sale will of course be less, but people that love a great bargain are not put off by the rain, but try and make sure you have enough space indoors, or a covered area to move your items should the weather decide not to be kind that day.
I hear there is a scavenger hunt for children how does that work?
Yes this is very exciting. Schools in the local and surrounding communities will also receive scavenger hunt forms for all their children, this will encourage families to come to Fernie just for the day to be part of the community event, see your sale and do the hunt at the same time. There are some great prizes on offer for children who collect 10 stamps from around Fernie
What is happening in Rotary Park on the day?
As Rotary Park is fairly central to Fernie there will be an information booth there helping people find all the garage sales, there will also be a bouncy castle for children and a concessions stand to increase the community focus of this event.
Are businesses involved too?
Yes we don't want local businesses not to be able to take part so if they wish they will have stalls at their shops, some may have their own garage sale items from home, others will have sale items from their shops, and some may just have specials on for May 24th only, so please check out Victoria Ave and other commercial properties on the day too.
How do I make sure my garage sale is listed on the map?
You must register and pay your $20 donation by 5pm on May 9th otherwise it will be too late to be listed on the map. If you miss the deadline you can still pay and hold a garage sale, and you will still likely get a good attendance due to the amount of people that will be coming to Fernie just for this event, but ideally we want all participants to let us know by the 9th.
When is the closing date for signing up?
You must register and pay your $20 donation by 5pm on May 9th. You will still be allowed to hold a sale if you are later, but you won't feature on the map.
