Call it the “mother of all yard sales”—the Oxford Conference Center (OCC) throws open its doors to the public for its 9th annual Indoor Yard Sale, which runs from 9 a.m.-1 p.m., Saturday, Jan. 20.
Admission is $2, while children age 12 and under can enter for free.
This year’s event features more than 40 booths, mostly occupied by sellers from Oxford and Lafayette County, organizers said.
“You can buy everything from clothes, books and furniture to lawn equipment and homemade pies and cakes,” said Micah Quinn, the OCC’s events manager. “Anything you might find at a typical yard sale, you will find it here.”
The OCC staff, under Director Hollis Green, launched the Indoor Yard Sale nine years ago to create a community event during the slow winter months. “January was crickets in those days,” Green said. “I had seen these kinds of events before, but they were usually called flea markets. We never called ours a flea market. We didn’t want for-profit businesses to come in and buy all the booths. We wanted it to be a real yard sale for the local community—and that’s what it is.”
Green said past events have attracted anywhere between 1,000 and 1,500 people, and he expects this year to be no different.
“I think people are in clean-out mode in January,” OCC Sales Manager Hayden Guest said. “They’re getting rid of stuff and kind of making a fresh start after Christmas. I also think they’re looking for something to do. February can get a little hectic, but there’s not a lot happening here on a Saturday in January.”
Green noted that the starting hour of 9 a.m. is firm. “We don’t allow early-bird arrival. But there will be a line stretching outside the door as people wait to get in.”
In addition to bringing the community together on a cold winter’s day, the Indoor Yard Sale also benefits a good cause. Holding Hands Resale Shop, an Oxford thrift shop that employs people with special needs, will be present for the event. “At the end of the day, you can donate anything you didn’t sell if you don’t want to take it home with you, and [Holding Hands owner Donna Howard] will give you a receipt for a tax write-off,” Green said. “She usually ends up with a literal cargo truck loaded with stuff she gets to take back.”
Green said Oxonians look forward to the Indoor Yard Sale every year. “People would scream if we decided we wouldn’t do it anymore,” he said. “It’s a really, really popular community event.”
Rick Hynum is editor-in-chief of HottyToddy.com. Email him at rick.hynum@hottytoddy.com.
