Saturday’s Haul Breaks Record!

Last Saturday was rocking at the at the Big Flea Shop N Drop. Our store manager Cynthia Webster reports record sales and strong donations. You can see a small fraction of our items below.

Even with all this support, we still need donations! Our goal is to raise $17,000 so far we’re at $6,250. If we’re going to reach it, we need furniture, household items, sporting equipment and kids gear. And plenty of it.

To donate your items, please visit our Shop N Drop location any Saturday in April from 2-4pm. We’re located at 719 N St. Asaph Street near Trader Joe’s. We’ll also pick up your stuff, just contact Cynthia Webster at websterbigflea@gmail.com.

New Neighbors Donate Canoe and Kayak!

Someone will be paddling in style, thanks to the generous donation of an Old Town canoe and a kayak to the Mount Vernon Community School PTA’s Big Flea. The donation comes from a family whose only tie to MVCS is a desire to help a local school.

Cathy Burke and her husband Kevin moved to Alexandria only in September, relocating from King of Prussia, Pennsylvania. Their two children, now in college, attended public schools. “We believe in the value of public education to local communities and society in general,” says Cathy.

When their children were younger, the Burkes often brought the watercraft with them on family camping trips along the Schuykill River in Valley Forge National Historic Park. Cathy says she and her husband and kids had fun times with their canoe and kayak, but that they hadn’t used them in more than a year. “Seeing them idle in the garage was often a bittersweet reminder of how quickly our children grew up.”

The Burkes decided to donate the canoe and kayak to a worthy cause, but first they had to choose a charity. They first learned of the Big Flea when their neighbor’s house was being used as a drop-off point for donations. But it wasn’t until later that Cathy noticed a Big Flea announcement on a neighborhood listserv, offering pickups for large donations.

She thought about her old canoe and kayak. She liked the idea of helping her neighborhood school, and she loved the convenience of simply e-mailing websterbigflea@gmail.com to arrange for someone to pick up her items. She had found her worthy cause.

The sale of the Burkes’ canoe and kayak, along with other Big Flea proceeds, will allow the MVCS PTA to continue supporting student field trips, after-school clubs, classroom projects, and other school activities.

“We’re glad we could help to supplement and enrich the programs at the local elementary school in our new neighborhood” by donating the items, says Burke. “We hope that the new owner enjoys using them as much as we did.”

Check Out These Legs!!!

OK, so the headline is pretty much a gag.  I mean table legs, of course (what a dirty mind you have). The MV Big Flea has been collecting a TON of furniture over the last few weeks, some of it pictured below.  Click on the “For Sale” sign at left for more deals!

Come by our Shop N Drop store this and every Saturday in March and April.  We’re open from 2-4pm on Saturday and located at 719 N St Asaph Street in Old Town.  And just remember, Shop N Drop means you can drop off donations AND buy some stuff you don’t need.  We can also PICK UP your junque! To schedule a pickup, please contact our Curator Cynthia Webster at websterbigflea@gmail.com.

See you on Saturday!

Alexandria Bans Yard Sales in April

The Alexandria City Council passed unanimously an ordinance prohibiting yard sales in the city limits for the month of April, 2010.

The decision was widely seen as an effort to increase donations of items to the MV Big Flea, Alexandria’s premier charity flea market fundraising event.

“The educational success of our children is paramount,” said one member during Council deliberations.  “It’s imperative that Council do everything it can to support schools, PTAs and parents.  This new policy is one small way we can help.”

The ordinance, which takes effect on April 1, will be in effect for the entire month. It was originally proposed by the city’s Youth Policy Commission as a way to improve the lives of Youth in Alexandria.  Those found in violation of the law face a summons and a fine not to exceed $100.

“We’re thrilled with the Council’s action,” said Big Flea Prankster Joseph LaMountain.  “As we’ve said all along, yard sales are a big waste of time.  It’s so much easier to donate items to the MV Big Flea, and take a tax deduction, than organize a sale.  We’re glad Council agrees and has taken this important action.”

The MV Big Flea will be held on April 24, 2010.  A special preview will be held on Friday, April 23.  Donations are being accepted from 2-4pm on Saturday April 3, 10 and 17 at our storage facility at 1219 First Street in Alexandria; donations can also be made from 9am – 3pm on Friday, April 23 at the MV Rec Center.

My Sweet Cans…FOR SALE

In the 1970s there was a beer can collecting craze and as a red-blooded American boy, I got hooked.

So did my fellow MV Community School parent Doug Rutherford.   And despite the greatest of odds, about 125 cans from those once-majestic collections have followed us into adulthood.

But now we’re done and the wives are rejoicing and the thought of them leaving our homes.  The two collections have been combined into one, and are now ready for release into the hands of a new generation.

Let’s be honest.  While this is a great collection, they’re not really worth a lot of dinero.  But we just know that there’s a guy out there who needs to decorate his man cave, or kid who will catch the bug like we dd 30 years ago.

There are about 125 cans, half of which are foreign and half from the United States.  Most are from late 70s or early 80s.  They’re dusty, a few are dinged up and others have humidity spots.  But in general they’re in pretty nice shape.

If you’re interested, please contact Joseph LaMountain at joseph.lamountain@gmail.com and make me an offer i can’t refuse.