Marching to the Beat of a Bigger Garage Sale

Like the last snowfall and the celebration of Easter, the annual Band Garage Sale has become a sure sign that spring has arrived in Rosemount.

This year's edition of the huge event, now in its ninth successful year, takes place in the high school's Student Center, 3335 142nd St. W., on Saturday, April 30. Doors open at 7 a.m.

Motivated students and parents proudly volunteer their time over several days to make the event a success. Last year, the thousands of donated items turned into $8,347 in profits for the band, along with numerous donations to Goodwill of unsold items.

Tricia Remus’ involvement with the event started last year, when she helped with the collection trailers before the sale. This year, she is a co-chair of the garage sale. She has a son who plays tuba for the band and will serve as one of four drum majors during the upcoming marching band season.

She is joined by Dan Markes as a co-chair and coordinator of the fund-raising event. The father of a current band member in percussion and drum line, Markes has been involved with the garage sale for three years.  

“The garage sale began as an opportunity to build community support and knowledge of all the Rosemount High School Band program has to offer the students in our community,” Remus said.

“This is a very large event on our campus that brings together a huge number of Rosemount HS Band members and their families,” said Rosemount High School band director Steve Olsen. He is in his 30th year of teaching as a band director – the last 13 at Rosemount High School – and has been involved with the school’s popular garage sale since its beginning.

“We have more than 100 volunteers help in one way or another,” Remus said. “We have parent volunteers who chair departments of the sale – clothing, toys, housewares – year after year, and take great pride in the display of the items we sell.”

Olsen said that parents give their time every year collecting donations at the collection semi-trailers, setting up the sale – “filling our entire RHS cafeteria with an incredible array and large volume of stuff!” he described – and working throughout the day at the garage sale itself.

“I love to hear how passionate volunteers are for a cause they truly care about,” Remus said. “The student volunteers are given opportunities to serve in leadership roles throughout the day of the sale and beyond. Last year, there were students that stepped up and took their tasks to heart and served the customers and the event with pride. It’s amazing!” 

Olsen made it a point to add that dads grill brats and hot dogs on the event day and sell them outside in front of the school – “a great meal fresh off the grill."

Added Remus: “People can get a brat or hot dog, chips and soda for a great price. Everyone needs to keep up their energy levels while shopping for the great deals!” 

Weather, of course, is no deterrent for an indoor garage sale. Neither are lines, since some competitive garage sale customers arrive as early as 6 a.m. “to get the first crack at all the treasures the sale has to offer.”

“There are customers who come year after year because they know they’ll find a great deal and know it’s for a wonderful cause,”  Remus said, adding that customers have been known to return two or three times throughout the day, just in case they missed anything.

For added convenience this year, credit cards will be accepted at the garage sale for the first time.  

Olsen noted that “members of the Rosemount community donate an incredible amount and variety of items, and always lots of very interesting items and ‘treasures’ are found." There’s "something for everyone, and especially for the hard core garage salers.”

Remus described a few unique donations that have graced the displays in previous years: “…beautiful Norwegian sweaters and a set of magnificent china. Last year someone brought a very nice table saw – in an unopened box – because the individual had it in their garage and realized they weren’t going to use it; so they donated it. Seriously! What a gift.”

She added that a major valuable donation comes from Justman Freight Lines of Eagan: the use of the two large tractor trailers for donation collections during the week leading up to the sale.  

“Last year, we collected thousands of items throughout the week, and it wouldn’t have been possible without those trailers,” she said.

Despite enthusiastic shoppers, the generous number of donations results in leftover items that are donated to the Eagan Goodwill – “typically a semi trailer full of stuff,” Olsen said. “The folks at Goodwill are always excited and grateful for our large donation. It works out really well, as we only collect items that Goodwill will accept.”

This year, Remus said, "we want to emphasize that the proceeds from the event will help purchase sheet music for all RHS Bands, scholarship funds – so that every student, regardless of their economic situation, can participate in band – and to offset the transportation expenses."

Past garage sales made it possible to purchase high-intensity outdoor lighting for the band’s practice field/parking lot ($20,000) and a semi-trailer ($10,000), Olsen said.

Explained Remus: “The proceeds have helped offset the transportation and maintenance expenses associated with the semi-trailer, which carries band instruments and gear to competitions around the region.”

Another new addition this year, Apple Valley Ford will bring several new vehicles to the high school parking lot to offer free test drives to anyone at least 18 years of age. For each test drive, they will donate 20 dollars to Rosemount High School, according to Olsen.

“The weekend of April 30^th is a great garage sale weekend. People are itching to get out and find great deals and fabulous treasures to take home,” Remus said. 

Donations will be accepted at the Collection Trailer (semi-truck trailer) in the Rosemount High School Parking Lot on:

• Saturday, April 23, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
• Monday, April 25, 5 p.m. to 8 p.m.
• Tuesday, April 26, 5 p.m. to 8 p.m.
• Wednesday, April 27, 5 p.m. to 8 p.m.
• Thursday, April 28, 4 p.m. to 8 p.m.
• Friday, April 29, 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. -- deliver to the RHS Student Center

Large items will only be accepted Friday at the Student Center.

For more information, including donation guidelines, visit the Rosemount High School Marching Band website at www.rosemountband.com/garagesale.shtml.