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Community Corner

Sidewalk Sale Sizzles In Record Temperatures

Despite record breaking temperatures, the Little Silver sidewalk sale was going strong on Saturday

The story this weekend was heat, heat and more heat. Yet, despite record breaking triple digit temperatures that started on Thursday, Little Silver business owners and residents grinned and bared it in order to make the annual town wide sidewalk and garage sale a success.

The annual sidewalk sale, which is sponsored by the Little Silver Business Association, began on Thursday, with a successful bone marrow drive held by . 

The sale continued Friday and Saturday, with Saturday also being the day that residents could join in the selling fun by taking part in the community wide garage sale.

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The heat was definitely a factor for most business; however, it didn’t completely shut down business.

“The heat has affected the foot traffic, for sure,” said Kelly Hicks of , an interior design store that sells unique items for the home. “We were busy in the morning all three days, before the heat really kicked in.”

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Regardless of the heat, Hicks said that the sidewalk sale created a “good buzz” for the town and the businesses of Little Silver. “I think the entire buzz surrounding the sale was good for businesses," Hicks said, adding that Byford and Mills would jump at the chance to participate in something like this again.

Elaine Boaman, assistant manager at , a non-profit gift shop that sells gifts made by artisans throughout the USA, said that this year’s sidewalk sale topped last years as far as sales and traffic.

“Thursday was the best day, but we’ve gotten good traffic despite the heat,” Boaman said, adding that she sent email reminders to some of her loyal customers to remind them of the weekend’s sales.

The had tons of items lining the sidewalk in front of the entrance. There were beach chairs, pools floats, hats and other hot weather items.

“You can never predict the weather,” said Dan Murphy, who was tasked with the hard job of manning the outside merchandise, “but the sidewalk sale is a classic for the town and I think it’s been successful.”

Saturday also played host to the town wide garage sale, where residents were encouraged to stack their front lawns with items in need of a new home.

“The heat is brutal!” laughed Bob Guerrero, one of the residents taking part in the garage sale.  The heat, however, didn’t stop the garage sale aficionados from stopping by. “We had people showing up around 7 a.m., looking for deals,” Guerrero said.

Although there were about 13 houses participating in the town wide garage sale, the turnout could have been better. One idea that was echoed by most sellers was the wish that the permit fees be waived for the weekend of the town wide sale.

“I know it’s only five dollars,” Guerrero said, “But it does take time out of your day to get down to the borough and some people just don’t have the opportunity to get down there. I think that more people would participate in a town wide event if the fees were waived.”

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