The sun beamed brightly on the panhandle of Nebraska this past weekend as locals and travelers were selling off their old stuff or hunting for something new during the first annual Panhandle Frontier Finds event. All 11 counties in the panhandle participated in hosting citywide garage sales and yard sales, as well as giving everybody an opportunity to support local businesses.
The event was an extension of a similar event held annually in the northwestern panhandle where yard sales are held throughout the communities. In the past, the maps included Chadron, Crawford and Harrison locations. This year was the first year that got the entire panhandle involved. Maps were provided for anybody with yard sale locations and lists of what kind of used stuff was available. Around 300 sites participated in the event this year. Yard sale patrons were even given an opportunity to fill out a short survey at every mapped location to be entered to win prizes. The winners of the prizes will be announced at the end of this week.
The event was an overwhelming success according to Gabby Kreis, President of the Chadron Chamber of Commerce, who said, “We were thrilled to see all 11 counties across the Panhandle come together this weekend to support Frontier Finds, our countywide garage sale event, alongside Saturday’s Downtown Vendor Market, which featured more than 15 vendors. The weekend also included a live mural painting in Art Alley with Pine Ridge Job Corps and the unveiling of a newly painted community piano, now installed downtown for everyone to enjoy.
We are excited by the momentum this event continues to build and look forward to seeing it grow in the years ahead. We also hope that those who benefited from the increased traffic generated by Frontier Finds recognize the value of joining forces in the future. By participating officially, sellers can take advantage of expanded promotion, including inclusion in our printed event booklets. The overwhelming demand for those booklets this year made one thing clear: we’ll be printing even more next year.”
