RISON - The fall edition of the Great South Arkansas Junk Hunt, a multi-county rummage sale, will take place next Thursday through Sunday, Sept. 24-27.
Originally slated for October, Douglas Boultinghouse, one of the coordinators, said they discovered several conflicts with festivals and other events in October so the fall event was moved to the last weekend in September beginning this year.
The Junk Hunt started as a spring event held Hwy. 35 from Benton to Monticello. Soon, other parts of Cleveland County wanted to be included so the Hwy. 79-63 Junk Hunt Loop was added for the fall. Eventually, the two events were merged into one large route held over a four-day period each spring and fall.
Other communities across southern Arkansas showed interest in becoming part of the route as well so the Great South Arkansas Junk Hunt was born. The route now passes through 13 counties: Cleveland, Ashley, Bradley, Calhoun, Columbia, Dallas, Drew, Grant, Lincoln, Jefferson, Ouachita, Saline and Union This year’s map extended the route along Hwy. 270 from Sheridan to Poyen.
Moving forward, the spring Junk Hunt will be held the first weekend in April, and the fall event during last weekend in September.
Boultinghouse noted that the spring dates shift to the last weekend in March when if the first April weekend overlaps with Easter.
There are vendor hubs set up along the routes as well. The Pioneer Village at Rison will once again be hosting a vendor hub for the fall Junk Hunt.
Both shoppers or vendors are encouraged to follow The Great South Arkansas Junk Hunt on Facebook. Boultinghouse noted there is both a Facebook Page and a Facebook Group associated with the Junk Hunt. The page is where administrators post public information regarding the hunt. The group is where individuals can post their sales and other things along the route.