KENT—Kent had never tried holding a town-wide tag sale before but 34 people joined in the fun June 15 to offer items for sale all over town.
The idea was suggested to Park and Recreation Director Matt Busse by several co-workers in Kent Town Hall and he jumped in with both feet. The town offered spots to sell items in the town hall parking lot and at Kent Commons Park under the pavilion. All over town, people paid $5 to be put on the map as a participant.
“Having 21 locations on the town map, nine spots at Town Hall and five spots at Kent Commons Park, highlights how eager people were to participate in a new event,” said Busse on Wednesday. “It’s exciting to see a new community-wide event bring the community together!”
Choosing a multi-family approach, Darlene Brady joined with the Robb sisters, Meghan Robb, Mary Cox and Stephanie Grusauski, and they arranged all of the items on large tables in the Bradys’ Elizabeth Street yard. Items were sorted by price—$1, $2 or $5—on different tables.
“We had lots of early shoppers as we were setting up,” Brady said. Success for her was going to be if everything sold and nothing had to be brought back in the house, she said with a smile.
Just down Elizabeth Street, Kathleen and Marty Lindenmayer, had items in their front yard and on the driveway in the back. A moving sale, they are looking to downsize and the tag sale timing worked well for them.
At Kent Town Hall, sellers had tables set up in the parking lot and shoppers were coming through at a steady clip by mid-morning on Saturday. Kathi Lee had a variety of clothing for sale and other items and she was happy to see more people arriving by 10 a.m.
Enjoying the shade under an umbrella, Alicia Winter had her knitting out and she was greeting people as they took a look at her items that also included clothing and a blue bike. Donna Matson had a number of housewares, signs and Christmas items being offered at her table.
A light breeze was helping keep everyone cool under the sunny skies for the day’s sale. Sellers could be found by using a map that Busse updated as more and more people joined the sale in recent days. It was distributed on social media and by email to those subscribed to the Park and Recreation emails.
Busse was pleased by the response and participation. He anticipates that Park and Rec will hold another tag sale again, possibly as soon as this fall.
