Gap Relief Sale will celebrate 75th anniversary

BY ADRIAN ESCHENWALD

The annual Gap Relief Sale will be held on Friday, Aug. 11, and Saturday, Aug. 12, at the Solanco Fairgrounds, 172 S. Lime St., Quarryville. The fundraising event will include auctions, hot meals and live music, and the proceeds will support the Mennonite Central Committee (MCC).

On Friday, the auction preview and pork roast dinner will begin at 4 p.m. The preview will be open until 6:30 p.m., and meals will be available to purchase for eat-in or takeout until 7 p.m. From 6:30 to 7:15 p.m., a member of MCC will speak alongside a special offering, followed by group singing. The auction will officially kick off at 7:15 p.m.

On Saturday, the event will begin with a country breakfast that will consist of pancakes, sausages and eggs. After breakfast, auctions will begin at various times in each of the buildings at the fairgrounds.

In block one, a household item and craft auction will start at 8:30 a.m., followed by a large furniture auction at 11 a.m. Special items to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the sale will be available to bid on at noon, including a large quilt ornamented with the Gap Relief Sale logo. At 1 p.m., quilts and quilted wall decorations will be up for bids. In block two, farm equipment and workshop tools will be among the items auctioned off at 9 a.m. In block three, a sale of children’s items will begin at 9:30 a.m., followed by an auction of lawn furniture, shrubbery and other outdoor items. In block four, any excess items from the food stands will be available to purchase, including subs and pulled pork. From 10:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., a bounce house and barrel train rides will be available to children.

The first sale was held at the farm of Leon Summers in Gap. The event was created by locals who wished to support MCC, and it was held every other year until 1990, when it became an annual event. The sale changed locations multiple times before permanently relocating to the Solanco Fairgrounds.

All of the event’s proceeds will benefit MCC, which is headquartered in Akron. MCC is an international ministry of Anabaptist churches that acquires resources for the purpose of offering relief to communities around the globe that are in need. The special offering on Friday will be used to fund MCC’s relief efforts in Ukraine.

The items that will be available during the sale have all been donated by individuals and local business- es. Among the items is a restored 1951 Farmall tractor, provided by Double H Tractor Service in Ephrata.

“The sale gives the local community an easy way to support MCC while acquiring something you might need,” said Levi Glick, who is helping to coordinate the event.

To donate an item for the auction, interested parties may call 717-617-9746 to arrange for dropoff or pickup.