MONROE, Conn. — Shoppers parked along Cotton Tail Drive and walked across Walnut Street to get to a tag sale late Saturday morning. Debbie Gallante sat behind a table of items in her driveway, as a steady stream of customers picked through the displays with decorative plates, toys and home goods.
“We’ve been doing very well,” she said. “People were here before we set up.”
Gallante was running the tag sale with her husband, Donnie, and their friend, Kevin Donovan, who brought vintage bar mirrors.
They were among the 82 sellers at 78 locations over the weekend during the first Monroe Town-Wide Tag Sale, which was held Friday, Saturday and Sunday, though not every vendor was open all three days.
“I saw a sign for it,” said Justin Gardner of Monroe, who brought his children, Penny, 7, and Ben, 4. “We went to one on Williamsburg Drive earlier. I’m looking for kids toys and fishing stuff.”
The sky was cloudy and the smell of Canada’s wildfires still hung in the air.
“I just hope the rain holds up,” Gallante said.
The sun came out on Sunday and on Monday, Barbara Fahr, one of the main organizers of the Town-Wide Tag Sale, gave a positive report on the overall event.
“The general feedback the team has received has been that the event was a resounding success,” she said. “Lots of traffic on Saturday before the storms, and Sunday-only locations had lots of traffic on Sunday. The team is sending out a survey to location participants and shopping participants to gauge interest in future townwide tag sales. I can say, if we do it again, the team would certainly welcome additional volunteers.”
The Monroe Town-Wide Tag Sale was organized by private citizens and led by a committee.
Inspired by neighboring Shelton’s community-wide tag sale, Fahr gauged public interest for a similar event in Monroe on the Monroe CT Residents Facebook page, of which she is a manager.
After an overwhelmingly positive response, the Monroe Town-Wide Tag Sale Facebook page was created solely for the event.
Comments were exchanged on the page as people looking certain items, like baby clothes, sought out vendor matches. One customer, who bought a telescope and walking stick at a tag sale had forgotten to take it home with him. He successfully used the Facebook page for help in finding who sold it to him, so he could pick up the items.
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