Country Store expects big crowd this weekend

Over the last seven-plus decades, Grace Community Church’s Country Store has gone from a simple bake sale to one of the largest yard sales in the area.

The popular event will be held on Friday, Oct. 18 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and then Saturday Oct. 19 from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Last year the line to get in wrapped around the block.

In terms of what’s for sale, to say there is something for everyone may be a bit of an understatement. There is literally something from A to Z, including antiques to toy zoo animals and everything in between.

According to event co-chair Pandora Ahlstrom, “For those not familiar with Country Store, our basic mission is to repurpose gently-used goods to raise funds for various charities. We help locals seeking to get rid of their ‘stuff’ by accepting donations every Tuesday morning, March through September, sorting these goods, passing some along directly to local aid organizations, and then sell most at our October sale at generously-low prices. It’s popular because our inventory is so extensive and so reasonably priced.”

Organizations the church supports include Boulder City Senior Center, SafeNest, Emergency Aid, Women’s Resource Center, Southern Nevada Veterans’ Home.

In order to pull this event off, she said 179 people signed up to help volunteer. The thousands of items for sale are broken into 23 separate categories or departments on the church grounds.

“Some folks have served for decades, and it’s gratifying to see new people taking advantage of this opportunity to serve our community,” Ahlstrom said. “We work hard, and have a blast.”