Sixth Annual Broadwater County-Wide Yard Sale
 | Author:
Victor Sample
Vic Sample: MT43 News Treasurer |
The Missouri Valley Marketing Sixth Annual Broadwater County-Wide Yard Sale was our most successful County- Wide Yard Sale yet.
The first County-Wide Yard Sale event was held in 2017 with the goal of bringing people from outside the county to visit Broadwater County. We had 43 people sign up to hold yard sales and there were about 4 local area people set up sales at the Flea Market area of the event, near the Copy Cup along Front Street.
In 2017 we advertised the event in the Helena IR, Butte Standard, Bozeman Chronicle and, of course, the local newspaper. Hundreds of people from Helena, Butte and the Gallatin Valley came to Townsend to shop at our yard sales.
This year we had over 60 people register to hold yard sales, including our first ever yard sale at the south end of the county. There were over 10 vendors at the flea market area from Townsend, Helena, Three Forks and Whitehall. We again advertised the event in the Helena, Butte and Bozeman newspapers and Mini-Nickel but also advertised in the Three Forks, Whitehall and Boulder newspapers.
I spent most of the day at the Flea Market on Front Street working with the vendors and handing out maps of the Yard Sales in town and in the surrounding areas. I spoke to a lot of people from out of the county that came to Townsend for the sales. For many people, it was the first time they visited Townsend.
I also visited several of the Yard Sales in the area. All of the people holding the Yard Sales said they were very happy with the number of visitors they received and the people I spoke to were very happy with the sales they made. Paul Liner told me that he and his wife Donna started setting up the yard sale at 7:00 in the morning. Paul said, “People started arriving at 7:30 in the morning!” The official Yard Sale hours were 9:00 am to 3:00 pm.
Over the years, the County-Wide Yard Sale has had some challenges. In 2018 there was a torrential downpour all day long, with heavy winds. Even with the terrible weather, people that could have their Yard Sale inside a garage reported a terrific number of visi¬tors and great sales.
2020 was the Year of Covid! We advised the people holding Yard Sales of the safety guidelines set by the county health department. Again, even with the chal¬lenging environment, people reported that they had a lot of visitors and great sales.
We thank everyone that has participated in the event over the last 6 years and hope we continue to get great participation in the future.
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PhotoCredit: Victor Sample
Image 1 Caption: Broadwater County-Wide Yard Sale Shoppers with a happy find!
