By Emily Williams
Members of the Junior League of Birmingham are preparing for their largest fundraiser of the year, an annual community-wide “garage sale” offering just about anything a buyer could want for modest prices.
The Bargain Carousel will feature more than 100,000 items ranging from art, appliances and furniture to clothing, home decor and sporting goods.
The event will be April 28 and 29 in Hoover, just off of exit 10 from Interstate 459 in the old Princeton-Hoover location. The main portion of the sale will be inside the former Winn-Dixie grocery store on the property.
“Bargain Carousel’s purpose is two-fold,” said Marianne Gilchrist, JLB volunteer and Bargain Carousel chair. “The sale raises money for the league’s 32 projects serving women and children in the metro area, and it allows us to sell items at deeply dis- counted prices to individuals who can benefit from them.”
The weekend sale will kick-off on the evening of April 26 with the annual Bargain Bash. The preview party will include a first-chance shopping opportunity with items sold at twice their ticketed price, as well as a silent auction featuring more than 150 items.
The fiesta-themed party will be catered by Taco Mama and will include a tequila toss, pinatas filled with prizes and music by Har Megiddo.
Tickets for the event are $40 for 6 p.m. early-bird shopping entry and $30 for 7 p.m. entry.
“Many people return to the event year after year,” said JLB member Kristen Osborne. “We have our Bargain Bash faithful who come in and buy antique pieces at double our retail price and we have hundreds of people who line up overnight for the general sale because they know they can get gently-used necessities at a price they can afford.”
The general sale will be April 28 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tickets will be $10 until noon and $5 after noon. All tickets will be numbered, with guests entering in order.
A pre-sale for tickets to the main event will be held April 27 from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. Guests can buy up to four tickets for the Saturday morning portion of the sale. Guests should expect a wait for the pre-sale. League officials said more than 500 tickets were sold last year, with some guests lining up the night before to pre-purchase tickets.
On April 29, the sale will be from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. with free admission and all remaining items sold at half price.
For information about Bargain Carousel 2018, call 879-9861, visit bargaincarousel.net or visit Bargain Carousel on Facebook. ❖
