Treasure Hunt: Community Yard Sale

Around 100 vendors sold their items at the Community Yard Sale at Rengstorff Park Saturday, while the City Wide Garage Sale did not happen this year.

People sold everything from shoes to collectable salt and pepper shakers to that jacket that you just had to have from last season, some racking in hundreds of dollars.

“The reason why I like to do this is the advertising is already done for you and there’s always traffic,” said Yana Mylnash, a Mountain View resident who was at the park for the third year and averages about $400 for the six-hour span of selling time.

Some people say there is almost an art as to what will sell and what they will lug back home again to attempt to sell next year.

Jane Pearson sold her items at the community event for the past five years, knocking out duplicate items in her collections at times as well.

“People who come here are not really looking for the $15 items, more for the $5 or less ones,” said Pearson, adding jewelry always seems to sell well.

Pearson teamed up with her daughter, Donna, to sell their things and even broke into her collections a bit, selling duplicates of her salt and pepper shakers and some bears from her Coca Cola bear collection.

The Community Yard Sale, which happens every year around May, started more than 12 years ago, said Recreation Supervisor Henry Perezalonso.

It costs $15 per 10 foot by 10 foot space, which does not include tables, and many bought two spaces. There is no Mountain View residency requirement, but most usually are residents. With 125 spaces available for selling along Rengstorff Park, mostly in the grassy areas, there were about 95-100 different sellers, according to Perezlonso.

“One person’s junk is another’s treasure” is definitely the theme of this yearly event, according to Perezlonso, adding that he always finds deals and unique items as he walks around too, like a golf ball for just a dime he bought Saturday.

Several areas sold items for other fundraisers done on their own, like the Japan Relief Fund, the Brian Stow Fund, or Castro Elementary.

Two first grade classrooms at Castro Elementary pulled together items to sell at the event to raise money for making yearbooks for the students, according to Lisa Topping, a parent in the classroom and a Milpitas teacher.

Topping’s son, Finn Buggy, said he had to find things he wanted to get rid of for Saturday.

Other students from Graham and Crittenden Middle Schools pulled their unwanted things together for their afterschool group leaders in hopes of raising money for Brian Stow.

Arianna Beaurais and Lee Martinez, who lead students in afterschool programs called “The Beat” and “Beyond the Bell”, said they made around $100 for the fund.

“My brother is a paramedic, so we chose this cause for the students to participate in because it really hit home for me,” Beaurais said.

Registration for next year’s event will begin around March 1, with forms and information available online on the city website.