RISON - The eighth annual Hwy. 35 Junk Hunt will run Thursday, March 9 through Saturday, March 11, Jennifer Via, organizer behind the Hwy. 35 and Hwy. 79-63 Junk Hunts has announced.
The Hunt includes miles and miles of yard sales, hubs of vendors and sales at local businesses along the route running south from Benton along Hwy. 35 through Sheridan, Rison, Monticello and ending around the Collins community in Drew County.
Along the route, there will be hubs of multiple vendors set up. In Cleveland County, the Pioneer Village in Rison will host its hub again this year. For more information, call Sharon Gray at (870) 692-3130 or (870) 325-6567.
Other hubs along the route and notices of sales can be found in the Hwy. 35 Junk Hunt Sales Group on Facebook, as well as the official Junk Hunt Facebook Page.
While the Junk Hunts give locals a chance to turn stuff laying around the house into cash, Via said one of the motivating factors in her putting the events together in the first place was to bring people to a part of the state they normally would never visit.
“I’m not sure everyone understands how the 35 Junk Hunt and the 79-63 Junk Hunt impacts not only the individuals setting up, but our cities and counties,” Via said. “A lot of those who I know are coming in don’t just visit our area other than to go junkin’, so the ‘junk’ is the ‘bait’ to bring folks into our neck of the woods.”
Via said those who travel the route are generating local sales tax revenue every time they buy food, gas, snacks, etc. along the route that stretches across four counties: Saline, Grant, Cleveland and Drew.
“Not only are we helping each other, we’re meeting and visiting with one another, and sharing our knowledge of our friends’ and neighbors’ businesses and our local landmarks,” Via said. “It only takes one person to say something like, ‘Oh, you should eat at...’ , or ‘You should visit... shop,’ or ‘You should come back for our... fest.’ It only takes one statement to help spread the word about our assets.”
And that’s not to discount what the sellers are making.
For general information regarding the Junk Hunt, contact Via at (870) 917-8267 or Vickie Padgett at (870) 489-5687.