By DUSTIN RACIOPPI
Bargain hunters can start licking their chops, because Fair Haven is heaping a town-wide yard sale onto its already-popular semiannual sidewalk sale.
The Borough Council gave the green light Monday for the Fair Haven Business Association to spearhead the event, which will coincide with the borough sidewalk sale in May.
That means the rush is on to get all the particulars worked out beforehand making maps, promoting the sale and more than likely, talking to its neighbors in Red Bank to get tips on how that annual sale, held in September, is run.
“We’ll get an idea of what Red Bank does,” Mayor Mike Halfacre said. “But if we’re going to do it in May, we have to get on the ball.”
One objective of having the town-wide event is to capitalize on the crowds that the sidewalk sale draws, but also to try and steal away a little business from eBay, said Maureen Bay, owner of Gem of an Idea and former association president.
“You have a lot of people in Fair Haven who are out of work and putting their stuff on eBay. Why not try to get them to sell their stuff in Fair Haven?” she said.
Business association president Michele Berger said given that fact, “the timing is perfect for a garage sale.”
Bay said she has no real gauge on just how many people might be interested in taking part in the yard sale, but if it goes well, there could be a second one, in conjunction with the borough’s end-of-summer Fireman’s Fair, which is one of the largest in the state, according to the fire department website. That event already coincides with the second of two yearly sidewalk sales.
“We usually get thousands of people,” Bay said. “That can only be enhanced with more for people to see and do.”
And, she added jokingly, if the event becomes big enough, “(People) might even find out where Fair Haven is.”
Although the details still need to be worked out, the council tentatively decided on charging a $5 registration fee for homes that want to participate. The fee is to have a way to keep track of who’s involved, Halfacre said, and not to try and make money off of the sale.
