Before I get started, I again wanted to thank Jeri Walker
for placing my interview on her website.
Those of you, who are looking for a very good editing or writing services, contact her on her website.
This past weekend, I went to Warrensburg, NY. This weekend
they have a town wide yard sale which, they claim to be “The World’s LargestGarage Sale.”
Before we get into the garage sale, let’s look at some of Warrensburg
history. The town is named after General Joseph Warren, who was instrumental in
enlisting Paul Revere and William Dawes to leave Boston and spread the alarm
that the British were on the march. Someday I should do an article about how
Dawes was more instrumental in giving the alarm than Paul Revere, but that will
come later.
Warrensburg has a population of around 4,255, its location
is approximately 1 hour north of Albany, and approximately 10 miles north of
Lake George, NY.
During the weekend, there are numerous “local” people who
have items for sale. These include homemade crafts to older items which you are
accustomed to see in a garage sale. The other sales there are presented by
professional vendors. You would be surprised by how many tents there were
selling tube socks and Egyptian sheets.
When this event was originally put on, it was almost totally
local people. Over the years, when it got bigger and more popular, more
professional type vendors appeared. Now, in my opinion, it is dominated by
these professional vendors. I am not saying this is bad, but there is more of a
vendor atmosphere than a garage sale.
I did not purchase much at this giant garage sale, but I did
enjoy going around the town and seeing the numerous tents. I did purchase two ties at a reasonable
price.
One place I did enjoy was the Maple Tree Books. They
had tons of books for sale outside their building. This is a wonderful establishment, and I hope
to visit it on other weekends when I am around Warrensburg.
When I was first studying martial arts, there were no dojos
nearby, no masters to teach me. So I read as many books as I could on the
subject. This included many by Bruce Tegner, who had a series of books (over
80) dedicated to the different styles of martial arts. I was able to find two of these books at
Maple Tree Book Store and purchased them at a ridiculously low price.
This is the 6th year of this event, which is held
in October each year; they do promote another comic book convention which is
held in the spring. It displays and promotes artist and professionals in one
place. With famous guests, exhibitors and
vendors, its main mission is to promote the growth of the comic book medium.
This convention was held at the Holiday Inn in Albany, NY.
It is a nice venue, even though it could be crowded at times. There were
numerous vendors at the show, selling mostly comic books and or comic book
themed models or items.
I was able to run into some people I met at previous
conventions. One was The Geek Culture Podcast. This is a great group of people dedicated to
providing exposure to those dedicated to comics, horror, science fiction and
anything else outside that that mainstream media ignores. Read about them on an
older post of mine.
I did run into an old friend from In Your Face Wrestling.
This was a group I once wrestled for. It was glad to speak to him for a few
minutes and catch up on wrestling.
I did meet another author, C.L. Schneider and I purchased
two of her books in The Crown of Stones Series. I am looking forward to reading
these fantasy novels. C.L. Schneider was a pleasure to meet and her staff was friendly
and very helpful.
If you have read and liked my fantasy novel, “Legend of theMystic Knights,” (and if you haven’t WHY NOT??) I know you would love her books,
so check it out on Amazon. Also, If you get a chance, check out her authorwebsite or even her Facebook page.
The Albany Comic Con is a wonderful event, filled with the excitement
and adventure you expect at one of these occasions. This group dedicated on
putting on these types of events means this region is getting a reputation of putting
on great sci-fi/fantasy/comic book conventions.
This was a fun weekend as I enjoyed both the Warrensburg,
World’s Largest Garage Sale, and the Albany Comic con. I will plan on attending both next year.
Next time: It is now October, and time for the things that
go bump in the night to rise, so for a while my blogs will deal with Halloween.
I rarely go to garage sales as here in the UK, they take place on Sunday mornings and I attend church. I like the idea of a book stall and would spend more of my time there!
ReplyDeleteOh my! I'm not sure if I should be horrified or delighted with a garage sale that big!!! But sounds like you had great fun at both events!
ReplyDeleteWow I love how you explore these great events William. This looks like it would be a great way to spend an afternoon. Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteWilliam, you sure know how to spend your weekends - comic cons, medieval faires and now the largest garage sale. Isn't it nice to meet people at these events.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you on the garage sale that professional vendors have taken over. The same thing is happening at our Farmer's Markets and I find it to bad - it kind of takes away from the original atmosphere.
I should mention this sometime, but I decided to make this summer MY SUMMER. Last year, I was forced to get a part time job at night, so I worked at a 24 hour super store (won’t mention the name, but you know what I am talking about) for little over minimum wage, from 7 PM, to 1 AM. I then got up at 7 AM for my day job that ended at 5PM. I worked at that store almost every day including weekends, so I had no free time, and was worn out. I decided to have some fun this year and go places I never went to, or enjoy those places I liked before.
DeleteWould be great fun to attend a huge garage sale like that and the book stalls.
ReplyDeleteThe huge garage sale sounds like fun. A bit sad that so many professional vendors have moved in though. There were some local craft sales I used to love, but in my opinion they went downhill when a lot of larger, national vendors moved in.
ReplyDeleteI like the idea of a community wide garage sale. It is somewhat common to see neighbors band to together to do this on a single street or block but I've never gone to one that was town-wide. I'm sure there are some, both sellers and attendees, who miss the days when it was just the locals selling their surplus.
ReplyDeleteWow! That sounds like fun. I don't tend to buy at garage sales but it would be a great place to find interesting people and I would probably succomb to a few books.
ReplyDeleteThe world's largest garage sale sounds like my kind of place! I think the books would have been my favorite too. Sounds like quite an experience.
ReplyDeleteOh, I'm a sucker for used books. It's even more awesome if someone has read it and passed it on to be read by someone else - like me! Garage sales are always fun, even if you don't buy anything, you're sure to find some oddities that will make you smile!
ReplyDeleteHi William. We went to a similar sale in Florida, only they call them flea markets there. But everything from soup to nuts on sale at amazing prices. Great way to spend a Sunday!
ReplyDeleteI've never heard of Warrensburg, but I imagine that it is near where I was born. I was born just a few towns over from Lake George, but I only lived there until I was 4, at which time I moved to Florida. I'll have to ask my husband if he is familiar with Albany Comic Con since he is in the comic book world. We live in L.A. now so he spends most of his time at the local ones.
ReplyDeleteI would have had a blast at that garage sale. I know there were many deals to be found out there.
ReplyDeleteGarage sales/flea markets can be a good place to get out-of-print musical recordings. William, did you see anyone selling vinyl records at the garage sale?
ReplyDeleteYou do not see vinyl at these events like you used to.
DeleteWilliam -- I love garage sales and your tales of upstate New York where, as I've mentioned before, my husband and I owned a log home in Petersburg (on the border of Williamstown). Upstate New York is so rural and different from downstate New York. I loved visiting all the fairs, garage sales and as well as the antique shops along Route 7. I still have several pieces of china from those visits.
ReplyDelete