Great Glebe Garage Sale 
is Saturday, May 23!

By Catherine Waters

DSCN1890 With spring finally in the air, it is time to do your spring-cleaning and dig out the treasures that you may no longer need, to sell at the Great Glebe Garage Sale (GGGS). This year, the neighbourhood-wide garage sale takes place on Saturday, May 23, from 9 a.m. until 3 p.m. However, as veterans of the event well know, the keen shoppers will be out searching for the best buys as early as 7 a.m.

Shoppers from far and wide, even beyond Ottawa’s borders, come to the Glebe to buy and sell, and wander through the neighbourhood enjoying the festive atmosphere and the spring weather. Everywhere you look, there are children, dogs, performance artists and musicians, buskers and balloons, and crowds of people chatting, eating hot dogs and shopping.

But the Great Glebe Garage Sale is not just a festive occasion and an exemplary recycling event. It is also a day of giving. Once again, the Glebe Community Association is asking vendors to contribute 10 per cent of their earnings to the Ottawa Food Bank.

So we look forward to another successful Great Glebe Garage Sale on Saturday, May 23! For social media puposes, please use the hashtag #gggs15

OTTAWA FOOD BANK

The Ottawa Food Bank supports 140 emergency food programs that feed around 45,000 people every month, 37 per cent of whom are children. By giving 10 per cent or more of our sales from the GGGS we help tremendously. Please give generously either online, by mail, in person at the Glebe Community Centre on May 23, or to volunteers who will be walking around on the day of the GGGS.

HOW TO GET READY FOR THE SALE

One week before the GGGS, sort the items you want to sell and get ready with all the important materials you will need. Go to the Glebe Community Association’s web page about the Great Glebe Garage Sale at www.glebeca.ca/events/garage_sale_faq.html to get more information and tips, and also to learn about the City’s regulations on food, parking and block parties.

Be sure to prepare masking tape, markers, post-it notes, grocery bags, a cash box with lid, lots of change, sun hat, sunglasses, beverages and plastic cups for the sale day.The day before, price your items (normally between 10 to 25 per cent of what they originally cost) and make sure everything you want to sell is clean and fixed up.

If you plan to sell lemonade and baked goods, make sure you have change, a clean selling area and food display.
Test all electrical items first, and have an extension cord handy to show shoppers that they work.
Have a garbage can and recycling bin ready to keep the street tidy.

PLANNING TO SELL BBQ FOOD?

Baked goods such as muffins, cookies etc. are easy to sell at the GGGS, but any food requiring cooking, especially meat, requires careful planning. If you are planning a BBQ on your property to sell at the GGGS, you must have some sort of rubber mat or painted plywood flooring under the barbecue and a wash station available (perhaps a garden hose and soap). If you are unable to meet the public health inspector’s requests, you may be asked to discontinue selling food.

If you are a resident cooking food on your own property, you are not required to have a food service permit. However, you are still required to meet the requirements of the by-laws. You will find a link to the City of Ottawa’s website at www.glebeca.ca/events/garage_sale_faq.html to familiarize yourself with the rules.

PLEASE REMEMBER

  • Make sure you set up your sale table on your lawn or driveway. You cannot use the sidewalk or road. If items are on the sidewalk, you could be ticketed by a city by-law officer.
  • There are no road closures during the GGGS – please keep the roads clear and drive carefully if you need to get in or out of the neighbourhood on that day.
  • Please remember that you cannot park that day on Fifth, O’Connor, Strathcona or Metcalfe, even with a parking permit, as they are reserved for emergency vehicles.
  • And remember to be willing to bargain – it is part of the fun and you will be happy to say good-bye to your stuff!

    • BANK STREET SIDEWALK SALE

    The Bank Street merchants, through the Glebe Business Improvement Association, will be taking part in the GGGS with a wonderful sidewalk sale on Bank Street. Take a stroll to visit the merchants and see what they have on offer.

    AFTER THE PARTY’S OVER

    This year we are also going to make special efforts towards environmental stewardship and the responsible and proactive disposal of leftovers from the garage sale. This is a partnership initiative between the Environment Committee of the Glebe Community Association, Ecology Ottawa (Glebe Community Network), the Glashan Schoolyard Greening Project and the TWIGS club at Glebe Collegiate Institute.

    Check out some drop-off points listed in chart below. For a detailed guide on where residents can bring their leftovers from the garage sale go to: www.glebeca.ca/events/garage_sale.html under Great Glebe Garage Sale Environmental Stewardship & Responsible Disposal Map of Ottawa 2015.

    Drop-off locations

    Electronics
    1 p.m. – 5 p.m. Sat May 23
    9 a.m. – 5 p.m. Sun May 24
    First Avenue side of 
Glebe Collegiate Institute

    Clothing & Household Goods (no books, furniture)
    2 p.m. – 5 p.m. Sat May 23
    166 Glebe Avenue or 24 Broadway Avenue

    Books
    2 p.m. – 5 p.m. Sat May 23
    Glebe St. James United Church
    650 Lyon Street

    If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to contact Catherine Waters at gggs@glebeca.ca. Catherine Waters is the volunteer coordinator of the Great Glebe Garage Sale for the Glebe Community Association.

    Heritage plaques on houses 
at the Great Glebe Garage Sale

    We’re holding a one-day Heritage Plaque Event in the Glebe.

    Why? To celebrate the wonderful architecture and social history of the Glebe.

    When? During the Great Glebe Garage Sale on Saturday, May 23, 2015.

    Who? The owners or residents of Glebe homes, with support from the GCA Heritage Committee.

    How? Prepare and install a simple temporary plaque or sign that identifies the history of your home and its architectural style, and attach it to a stick or tree on your lawn near the sidewalk. The plaque could include details on the builder or architect and on historical occupants.

    You can find a basic half-page template and example on the GCA website at www.glebeca.ca/committees/heritage/heritage.html or by emailing us at heritage@glebeca.ca, or feel free to design your own! Type it up, handwrite it, include photographs, whatever you like. We suggest you print it on a half-page adhesive label than can be adhered to a foam board or cardboard and stapled to a wooden stake.

    During last year’s Great Glebe Garage Sale, the GCA Heritage Committee and Heritage Ottawa partnered to conduct a trial plaque event for the homes along Glebe Avenue east of Bank and on Linden Terrace. The trial was a great success, enjoyed by both residents and the hundreds of visitors who passed by and read the plaques. The GCA Heritage Committee would like to make this an annual feature of the Great Glebe Garage Sale to increase awareness and appreciation among residents and visitors of the valued heritage character of our Glebe neighbourhood.

    For information about how to research the history of your home, check out the City of Ottawa Archives guide. For other assistance or questions, contact the GCA Heritage Committee at heritage@glebeca.ca. The committee is happy to help identify the architectural style of your house or prepare your label for you with any information you might have. 
You can also follow us on Twitter (hashtag #GGGS15) and check out our Facebook page.

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