Home » Bi-annual Highway 80 sale coming next Thursday-Saturday

Bi-annual Highway 80 sale coming next Thursday-Saturday

by Joshua Specht

Minden has plenty of shopping opportunities everyday but two special shopping events are just around the corner. The Highway 80 sale which occurs biannually is October 18, 20, and 21. The Main to Main sale is November 2 and 3.

The Highway 80 sale is a five state antique and rummage sale with several antique shops and local vendors participating. People interested in selling in the sale can contact the stores Antiques and Art on Main to sign up for a space in front of local businesses on Highway 80. People who live on highway 80 are encouraged to have yard sales as well.

“The more vendors we have the more likely tourists are to return,” said Mary McKinney of City Art Works.

Both sales have a positive economic impact on Minden and the surrounding areas. Main to Main is 19 years old this year.

“A lot of people, they’ll come up on Thursday night to grab their spots because we don’t reserve spots for anybody.

So a lot of times when they come up to to tag their spots, while they’re here they go ahead and shop some of the local stores and eat out at restaurants and a few people who do that probably come to Minden and stay in the hotel so that puts heads in beds,” Main Street president Terry Gardner explained of the economic benefits the sale brings.
“We do pass out all the sales tax forms so we can collect sales tax on their sales,” Gardner said.

Vendors with rummage sale set-ups also have a special area at the intersection of Sheppard Street and Sibley Road for Main to Main. The local shops of Main Street also participate in the events.

Main to Main brings people from the region to Minden, Sibley, Dixie Inn, and Springhill. There are vendors selling various crafts, foods, and art.

“We’ll go around and while we’re visiting we’ll pick up some homemade soaps. There’s a lady who comes every year, I don’t know where she’s from but she makes the most awesome hot sauce to put on chips. There’s all types of homemade food; cookies, fudge, there’s a woman that comes out of Homer that does really good fudge. Crafted jewelry, clothes, anything you can imagine,” Gardner said.

The shopping events have become a tradition and gain popularity as the years go on. Minden Main Street director Becky White says there are several opportunities for local people to explore their own hometown. She says many people in Minden don’t realize what the city has to offer and hopes Main to Main gets the people of Minden into the downtown area.

“Our goal is to get people downtown and shopping in the stores, there are people that live in Minden that don’t even know what we have downtown. It’s a very popular event and hopefully they’ll go in some of the stores and recognize what we do have downtown. It goes very smoothly unless the weather doesn’t cooperate but that’s our objective, to get people downtown and bring the community together and it seems to work,” White said.

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