Ever needed a life-sized taxidermy shark? Perhaps you’ve been looking for a squirrel dressed in a hat and bandana, or coveted a piece of wreckage from a NASCAR auto. For items you just can’t find in local stores, try the 127 Sale, an event billed as the World’s Longest Yard Sale. The sale begins tomorrow (Thursday through Sunday).
• 690 miles long, through Michigan, Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama and a corner of Georgia.
• It began in 1987 with an idea by Fentress County, Tennessee, official as a way to promote attractions along back roads. The initial route followed U.S. Highway 127 from Covington, Kentucky, to Chattanooga, Tennessee. In 2012 it was extended.
The headquarters are located at the Fentress County Chamber of Commerce in Jamestown, TN on the beautiful Upper Cumberland Plateau.The Sale always officially starts on the first Thursday in August through the following Sunday. Many sellers in the Clarkrange and Jamestown, TN area start selling the weekend before the official start date. “It is aptly titled, “The Worlds Longest Yard Sale!” Every year individuals clean out their closets and stake out their front yards along the Hwy 127 corridor stretching over 690 miles from Addison, Michigan to Gadsden, Alabama. They band together as communities, in groups or as individuals and over a four-day weekend they welcome the onslaught of visitors from the North, South East and West. It is a mutual exchange of cultures with a common goal; to look, buy and sell! As you drive the country roads, you will hear a collection of dialects, be privy to incredible stories related to the individuals and the items they sell and see a plethora of items that only your grandmother could love. Most importantly, I think most come to see the unusual and socialize. It is Americana at its best.” ~ Dennis Keim, www.dk-studio.com