Friday, Friday, Friday! Monster, monster, monster! Rummage sale, rummage sale, rummage sale!
The Junior League of Santa Barbara’s Monster Rummage Sale will begin with a pre-sale from 6:00-9:00 p.m. Tickets for the pre-sale are $25 in advance or $30 at the door. The pre-sale will feature a taco bar, a margarita bar, and a silent auction of “hot” items.
The sale will open to the general public on Saturday, with no charge for admission. The general sale will begin at 8:30 a.m. and end at 3:00 p.m. Rummage sale Chair Bethany Mees said Saturday’s prices will be lowered from Friday’s pre-sale prices, but both day’s items will be sold off “well below” retail prices.
“They’re like garage sale prices,” Mees said.
The sale is hosted by the Junior League of Santa Barbara, a women’s charity organization founded in 1925 that focuses on volunteerism. The Junior League also provides healthcare to some communities and distributes dental kits to underfunded preschools in Santa Barbara and Goleta.
This year’s rummage sale will be held in conjunction with the league’s blood drive and bone marrow registry project, which will be open during the sale. The sale will include used, barely used and new items at low prices.
“[The sale] is there to provide quality merchandise for sale to low-income members of the community,” Mees said.
Since its inception in the 1970s, the sale has grown to become one of the main fundraisers for the league.
“Now it is filling up 22,000 square feet at the Earl Warren Showgrounds,” Mees said.
The sale has grown in the past years, but the amount of support from the people behind the scenes has remained constant.
“It is a tradition, because everyone knows they need to put in their time,” said Patty Palmer, a member of the Junior League and rummage sale committee member.
Palmer has been dedicated to helping recruit women over the age of eighteen to become active in the organization.
“It is an organization of women that is committed to promoting the volunteerism of women,” Palmer said.
Mees said the sale is imperative to the League’s fundraising because it is only one of two fundraisers and is an annual event.
Presale tickets are available by calling (805) 562-9633 or visiting the Junior League of Santa Barbara website at www.jlsantabarbara.org.
