The City of Chestermere has partnered with Camp Chestermere to debut a new event at the annual Family Fun Fair June 1 – an English-style yard sale where sellers set up shop from the trunks of their vehicles.
The sale will take place on the second day of Family Fun Fair festivities at Camp Chestermere in an effort to draw more people to the larger event, according to Sharron Matthewman, community and neighbourhood services co-ordinator with the City.
“In England, instead of having garage sales, people get together on a large car park. They bring their car, they bring their boots and a foldable table,” she said. “You put everything on your table that you want to sell, and people come from miles around to buy your stuff.”
The event offers people living in spaces that can’t accommodate a garage sale the chance to sell some of their items, Matthewman said. It’s also convenient for shoppers to have so many mini-garage sales in a central location.
“The good thing about the car-boot sale is that it’s a little bit different than garage sales. You don't need to troll around from block to block, [because] everything is in one place,” she said.
Sellers can register for $20 on the City’s website, with proceeds from registration supporting Chestermere’s Seniors’ Week initiatives and activities, which Matthewman said, was created to acknowledge seniors' contributions in the community.
According to the City’s website, “seniors are at the heart of our community and make up a large portion of volunteers who work in charitable organisations and community programs improving the quality of life for many people.”
The car-boot sale is just one of the events highlighted at the upcoming Family Fun Fair, organized by Camp Chestermere and the Rocky View Chestermere Agricultural Society.
“There's tons of activities for families, kids and adults. It's just a big fair that is happening over the course of two days,” said Shannon Dean, director of Camp Chestermere.
The free event spans two days, from 6 p.m. May 31 to 4 p.m. June 1, at venues across the city. A majority of the activities will be taking place at Camp Chestermere, Dean added.
According to Camp Chestermere, these activities will include a stampede breakfast, fireworks, movie on the beach, a farmers’ market, duck herding, food trucks, a Kidz Zone and bouncy castles. Certain activities, such as kayaking, wall climbing and the bouncy castles, require the purchase of a wrist band or tickets at the event, according to Dean.
“We are hoping people stay around longer because there's a lot happening at Camp Chestemere on the Family Fun day,” Matthewman said. “Having the bonus of a car-boot sale helps, too.”
For more information, such as wristband or ticket prices, visit campchestermere.com or chestermereagriculturalsociety.com
This article was updated June 3 to reflect the City's partnership with Camp Chestermere.
