The Great Glebe Garage Sale

I don't often venture out of my quaint town of Aylmer, as I work, shop and play locally. But the third Saturday of every May brings an event that gets even this quiet spinster out of the confines of suburbia - it's the day of the Great Glebe Garage Sale.

Although it sounds like just a garage sale, it is so much more. The lovely, trendy neighborhood of the Glebe becomes, for this one day, a veritable festival of market stalls, hot dog stands and live bands in addition to the many, many homes that host their garage/ yard sales.

I went again this year with my friend, Sarah. We arrived and began walking the streets at 7:00 a.m., and got back in the car to make our way back home at 4:30 p.m. It was a great day with lots of walking, chatting, and, of course, bargain hunting.

My half mannequin wearing a shawl I made

I scored a few treasures: a cute peek-a-boo doll, two living room lamps to replace the really old ones my mom had and which she loathed, a new pair of Merrell hiking boots (super comfy and stylish!), a mailbox that we've been wanting, and, a dress form to display my crocheted shawls and tons of yarn with which to crochet said shawls! All this for under $45. I'm very, very pleased with the day's purchases.


Anyway, any time one ventures into "the city", one should be prepared for the confusing traffic and the crowds. And for the Great Glebe Garage Sale, one much be even more prepared! Here are some tips we've learned if you plan to spend the day at this Mother of All Garage Sales:

• have a rolling basket to carry your purchases
• wear comfortable (very comfortable!) shoes
• dress for the weather, and probably in layers so you can adjust as the day goes on
• don't drink coffee right before going - toilets are sparse
• have a plan for when you get separated - Sarah and I waited for each other at each intersection
• wear bright colors to easily spot one another
• have your cell phones

everything can be bargained!

And, Parking! The Glebe is a traffic nightmare on this day, with roads being blocked by illegally parked cars, cars slowing/stopping to gawp at the yard sale items, pedestrians aggressively hogging the streets and preventing cars from easily moving. So, basically, park away from the fray.

Two years running, we parked a bit away, but not all that far away, and so we made a couple of trips back to unload. We were enough out of the centre, and really close to Queen Elizabeth Drive, that we had a clear and speedy escape route when we were ready to leave and so avoided the whole nightmare. Well worth the extra walking such parking involved.

Here's a map of the Glebe and where we parked.