The Great Glebe Garage Sale

By Amanda – Posted on

I’ve recently developed a crazy devotion to explore as much of Ottawa as possible this summer. So this Saturday I decided to finally check out the annual Great Glebe Garage Sale. Surprisingly, I’ve never gone before despite loving second-hand shopping. My initial assumption was that it was just a day where everyone in the Glebe sells their old knick-knacks, but I was impressed to find it was a lot more than that.

Not only were households selling their used items, but groups and organizations were coming together to collect donations for charities. Churches, companies and support networks were taking part, as well as local bands playing in the garages of their homes. Many families even sold baked goods in front of their house to raise proceeds.

 

 

I was also impressed with the amount of people that showed up for this event. I had heard on the radio that many people show up at 7 am despite the actual sale not beginning until 9, and now I understand why. Bank Street was filled with crowds of people either walking to destinations or shopping the sidewalk sales. Any street that happened to have a church was also packed with crowds of people, since churches tended to have the best selection of second-hand items.

 

My friend Corey came with me to check out the sales. We were fortunate that I have a friend who lives in the Glebe, so we were able to get easy parking in his driveway. Corey showed up looking well dressed for no reason at all, so of course I teased him relentlessly about it. Even better, countless men selling their items also poked fun at his style and offered him discounts on their hand-me-downs. Corey, being a good humored musician, was unfazed by the teasing.

The weather was unfortunately a little cold and really windy for the Great Glebe Garage Sale. It was definitely coat weather. However, we made the best of it by grabbing some coffee and eating treats regularly. We came by a Beaver Tails stand that was set up in someone’s driveway and we couldn’t resist the dessert; it was almost like fate that we stumbled across it.

 

In terms of good finds, I only bought a few items. I went to the event with the intention of finding some really good second hand PS2 video games, as well as some rings or jewelry. Unfortunately, I didn’t find any jewelry I liked besides a dorky $1 plastic ring (it’s a fish). I think the best find of the day was a DVD of Zombie Strippers that someone was selling. I didn’t buy it because I had a feeling it was an awful movie and the owner was asking for a lot more than I was willing to spend.

 
Finds of the day: Memoirs of a Geisha ($3), Dirge of Cerberus ($5), wooden engraving ($2), goofy ring (not shown – $1).
In the end, I ended up buying a DVD of Memoirs of a Geisha (with the money going to the Women’s Integration Network), Dirge of Cerebrus, as well as a wooden engraving of a Kingfisher for my bedroom. All of these items were great deals, but the experience itself was worth it. It was nice to get a sense of community once again, which I find is hard in Ottawa. I’d definitely partake again if I ever have the opportunity!

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