ROYAL OAK – It's one thing to have a sale in a garage; it's another to hold it in a parking structure. But for 30 years, local antique and knick-knack collectors have sold handmade and vintage jewelry, records, baseball cards, handmade pillows, clothing, old furniture and hardware supplies at Royal Oak's Antique and Garage Sale.
"I usually peg it as the, 'Everything under the sun … and stuff from other planets,'" said Shelley Kemp, director of events for the Royal Oak Chamber of Commerce.
A driveway couldn't hold over 250 vendors' merchandise and around 25,000 shoppers. But size wasn't the reason the Chamber decided to change the venue for this year's sale.
"We were just honestly looking for something that represented Royal Oak a little better, the feel Royal Oak has got now as opposed to 31 years ago," Kemp said. Because of weather conditions in the previous structure, the Antique and Garage Sale will take place at the Lafayette Structure, which is only three years old.
Most of the items are fairly priced, and sometimes dirt-cheap. "It really depends on what you're buying," Kemp said. "Some of the handmade items are one of a kind, so they are a bit more expensive. I can't say that I've ever seen anything that I thought was really out of control, and the vendors will listen to offers – not that they will always take it…"
The Chamber of Commerce, as they sought after fun events for Royal Oak, started the sale 31 years ago. "It started with regular retailers down here, actual business owners," she said. "They started it as a summertime fun type of thing, it was very small and just sort of grew and grew and grew."
Admission is $1 for adults and children 12 and over. Children under 12 are free. "The sale is the Chamber's largest annual fundraiser," Kemp said. "The money raised goes toward paying for the operations of the Chamber."
Jewelry, records, clothing, oh my!
Read More
How David Archuleta Left Behind the Mormon Church and Is Now Flourishing As An Openly Queer Person
When David Archuleta returned to the “American Idol” stage on Monday night, he knew that singing his latest single, “Hell Together,” [...]
Stand Up Against Book Banning, See the 'Reality Gays' Podcast Tour, Attend a Gender-Affirming Beauty Workshop
It's time for some spring cleaning. Whether that means weeding out the negative Nancys clogging up your social media feed, literally cleaning up your homestead [...]
Everything You Need to Know About the New Queer Bar Coming to Ann Arbor
The rumors are true — there’s a new queer bar coming to Ann Arbor later this year, and Pride Source sat down with co-founder Saharsh Hajela to [...]
Why a Local Academic Is Fostering Queer Discussion and Community Through an Old-Fashioned Book Club
Queer books on public library shelves have come under fire across the country in recent years, but you wouldn’t know it at the Ypsilanti District Library [...]
Kathy Griffin Keeps on Surviving: Comedian Talks Tour, Longtime LGBTQ+ Allyship and Support From 'Civilian Gays'
Kathy Griffin has been through even more than you probably know. She lost a lung to cancer, lost her mother and lost many of her close friends. In 2020, the [...]
‘Queer Drunk Punk’ Author Zehava Frieman on How Growing Up in Grosse Pointe Park Inspired Her Debut Novel
When Zehava Frieman finally sat down to write “Queer Drunk Punk” in 2021 on the tail end of decades of what she describes as “creative [...]
