Yard sales draw large crowds to Centre Hall

CENTRE HALL — Centre Hall is well known for the Grange Fair, which packs the town with thousands of people every August. But, running a close second for filling the town with people is the Town Wide Yard Sale Days event, held each year on the last full weekend in June.

According to Nancy Horner, the event began when several local business owners formed the Centre Hall Business Owners Association in 1980. The event has grown steadily in size and popularity since 1981. A conservative estimate is that well over 100 sales are happening simultaneously, turning the town into a bargain hunter’s paradise.

Sales line Pennsylvania Avenue on both sides from Old Fort to the mountain, and residential side streets and even some alleys are crowded with sales and shoppers.

This concentration of patrons has attracted outside food vendors, and churches in town also get in the act, turning their front lawns into roadside cafes to raise money for outreach and mission projects. Grace United Methodist Church rents space in its parking lot to outside craft and flea market vendors, who are drawn to Centre Hall by the large crowds of people looking for bargains.

Progress Grange opened its historic building for an indoor sale of items and food, providing shoppers with a respite from the hot sun and a place to sit down and rest before sallying forth to more sales.

Items seen for sale include just about everything imaginable — clothing, housewares, appliances, furniture, tools, vehicles, electronics, lawn mowers, bicycles, toys and even the kitchen sink.

Preparation for the event begins several days in advance. Canopies and tables are seen going up around the town early in the week. By Wednesday, porches and garages are being filled with merchandise to be sold. On Thursday, the whole town is setting up sales in front yards, driveways and garages. By midday, many early-bird shoppers begin appearing, perusing the sales for bargains before the big crowds arrive.

The sales have become family traditions for many in Centre Hall. People who grew up in the town come back to the family home with loads of items to sell, visiting with parents and old friends in the neighborhood. The event is a celebration of community spirit, with fun and frugality thrown into the mix.