Former annual tradition restarts during A’ROR’N Days
Whether they were called “Crazy Days” or “Penny Days” or just “Sidewalk Days,” there was a time when every small town retail district had its annual time of sidewalk sales, and Aurora was no exception.
The events in which retailers brought out to the sidewalk the unsold merchandise gathering dust in their back rooms and marked them down to “crazy low” prices, were much anticipated by both shoppers and merchants alike. The shoppers looked forward to getting great deals on clothing and other items while the stores enjoyed the opportunity to lighten up their inventory.
Remembering how much fun those events were, a collection of Aurora businesses is planning to bring back sidewalk sales this year during A’ROR’N Days.
The revived event is set for Friday, June 21, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and as of press time 14 Aurora businesses had signed on to participate. The organizers of the event say they chose Friday of A’ROR’N Days because of the hundreds of people who will be in town for the event and because Friday is a day of steady traffic with things going on in the courthouse square throughout the day, finishing up with the car show in the evening. They say they are hoping to take advantage of the fact that A’ROR’N Days brings a large number of people to the downtown area. They also said they hope the sidewalk sales will attract visitors to come inside the businesses to see what’s there as well.
Two of the people behind the revival of sidewalk sales in Aurora are Kelsey Hofmann of Urban Chic Boutique and Jennie Snoberger of Old Homestead Market and Floral. While neither could recall exactly how long ago merchants stopped doing sidewalk sales in Aurora (some think it has been at least 20 years), Snoberger said thinking about it takes her back to her childhood.
“I remember as a kid coming to town,” Snoberger said. “It was a big deal to come to town for sidewalk sales. The grab bag at Mo-Nets was what I wanted when I was a kid. I wanted that 50 cent grab bag!”
Hofmann said Preston McDaniels at Thomas Realty had told her it was a such a big deal back in the day that people would come from as far away as Kearney to take advantage of the bargains and he often bought his suits to wear to work at the sidewalk sales.
While there aren’t as many retail stores downtown anymore, Hofmann said other kinds of businesses are going to take advantage of the opportunity to put things on the sidewalk that they want to move out, and businesses many blocks away from the square, such as Jim’s U-Save Pharmacy and Schneider’s Hardware on the west side of town, are going to participate as well.
“We’re getting rid of just some sales stuff that’s kind of been sitting around for a while,” Hofmann said of Urban Chic’s sale. “With clothing it’s a lot. Stuff comes in and out of style and then you get stuck with just some random sizes of smalls or whatever you can’t get rid of, and so you have one or two left of them and it’s just sitting there and they accumulate. It’s kind of nice to throw them out there and put them on sale, so I’ll have jewelry, clothing and shoes. I think the Honeysuckle side will have some seasonal. There have been a couple of fixtures and things I’ve seen too. And silks — that kind of thing — artificial flowers... that have just been thrown in the basement and are just sitting there. It’s the same idea as with a garage sale.”
Participating sidewalk sale businesses include Urban Chic Boutique, Honeysuckle Lane, Old Homestead Market & Floral, Dream Designs Bridal, Society Wellness & Salon, Mo-Nets, Estheva Skin & Body, NAPA Auto Parts, The Village Square, Ashley Brooke Jewelry, Memorial Hospital Auxiliary Thrift Shop, Grape Frog, Touch of Health, Schneider’s Hardware Home & Garden and Jim’s U-Save.