100-Mile Yard Sale: Harmony to Wytheville, July 26-28, 2024

Photo byLaura Cass

It's the time of year bargain hunters look forward to - a time where treasures of all kinds can be found. If you're looking for household goods, clothes, toys, tools, collectibles, furniture, or any number of other items, there's a good chance you may find in when there are numerous yard sales that will be happening.

The 100-miles of yard sales, on US Hwy 21 from Harmony, NC, to Wytheville, VA, will be held on July 26-28, 2024. Times vary based on the will of the vendors, but generally you can find sales open from around 7 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Also known as the US 21 Road Market or the 3-Day Road Market, the event was created to encourage economic activity through the small towns of Highway 21 and is led by tourism activists in North Carolina and Virginia. It is affiliated with the J.O.B. Fund, Inc., a 501c3 charity.

Local businesses, including restaurants, will typically be open as usual, but you can also expect to see food trucks along the way.

The event began in 2014. Laura Cass, whose family has participated in the event since its inception, says "It's a great time to meet people from all over the country, while recycling treasures we have collected but no longer need."

Cass's family will be set up at 3074 Harmony Highway - they expect 10 vendors at their location and have a field for parking.

The mostly 2-lane Highway 21 will be crowded and those who plan to travel the route are encouraged to take extreme caution to avoid accidents. Note that people will be prone to stop quickly, drivers are distracted, and with some people parking roadside and pedestrians crossing streets, it will add to the hazard potential.

For those who want to be a vendor at the event, but don't yet have a space on the route, towns along the route have set up a registration system where space can be rented. Here is the page for the town of Harmony.

Other places involved in the event are Jonesville, Yadkin County, Elkin, Wilkes County, Alleghany County - all in North Carolina - and in Virginia, Grayson County, Wythe County, and the town of Wytheville.

A motto for the sale is "Take a Break from the Interstate" and that is the name of the event Facebook page and their website (takeabreakfromtheinterstate,org). For more information, check them out. You can find a brochure of the event here.

If you want to make a long weekend of it, you'll find places to have adventures along the way. It's a beautiful place to take a break - and maybe find that perfect thing you didn't know you needed.