Bakersville Yard Sale

Sarah Atkins

mnjreporter@gmail.com

This past Saturday, hundreds of shoppers made their way to downtown Bakersville to find good deals and enjoy time with the Mitchell community.

The Bakersville community yard sale has occurred every summer for roughly 15 years. It takes place on the Saturday around the fourth of July each year.

The yard sale was originally started by the Bakersville Community Improvement Group as a way to raise funds for the Bakersville Creek Walk. Vendors were charged $5 to set up a table, although many donated more to the cause.

This year, there was no fee to set up, although people were encouraged to donate to the Bakersville Area Merchant’s Association (BAMA).

Dozens of vendors set up tents and tables to sell a variety of items to the many visitors who come to the sale.

There were vendors all over downtown Bakersville selling a variety of goods. People were selling books, furniture, art, baked goods, drinks, cameras, pickled and canned foods, clothes, knives, and much more.

Vendors either set up the night before the event or get there early in the morning to set up. Steve Rowland, owner of Bowditch Antiques and Collectibles in Bakersville arrived at 5:30 a.m. on Saturday morning to set up tables in front of his store.

Rowland has been selling items at the yard sale for the last six years and brings out goods from his shop that he believes will appeal to the people who come to the event.

One shopper, Larry Howell said he has been coming to the yard sale on and off since Bakersville first started having the event. He said it takes him about an hour and 15 minutes to walk through all the booths. Howell’s favorite part about the yard sale is “walking around and seeing everybody.”

Many seem to view the yard sale as an opportunity to catch up with other members of the community. People would often stop to talk with vendors or other shoppers that they knew to visit with one another.

This year was Caroline McKinney’s second year attending the Bakersville yard sale. She said she enjoyed “seeing the variety of items people are selling and catching up with people I don’t get to see regularly” as well as being outside on a nice day.

Both Howell and McKinney seemed to think that many of the vendors priced their items well, although there were a few exceptions. Many vendors did seem willing to haggle prices to sell their items.

  Some shoppers expressed that the yard sale seemed to have more vendors and shoppers than came to the yard sale last year. It is a possibility that this will be reflected in the donations received by BAMA and that the trend of increasing attendance will continue in 2025.

The Bakersville community yard sale is expected to return next year, again inviting visitors and vendors alike to involve themselves in the community through shopping and conversation.