CENTRAL SPRINGS, Colo. (KOAA) — One of Colorado Springs' largest neighborhood yard sales has returned — and the people behind it say it was never just about the bargains.
The Venetian Village yard sale, a tradition in the Papeton and Venetian Village neighborhoods, is back after a six-year break. At its peak, the event drew participation from dozens of households and multiple churches. This year, 13 homes took part — but the new organizer, Susan DiNapoli, says the revival is just getting started.
DiNapoli, a board member of the Papeton Neighborhood Organization, said the event is about more than buying and selling.
"It's a really great way not only to just meet your neighbors but to also engage them and get them involved in the Papeton neighborhood," she said.
Neighbor Roy Sherwood said the conversations that happened during the sale were the real highlight.
"We met some really nice people. One lady stood here for about 20 minutes and I guess she had a hornet problem. We're talking about hornets or whatever, but I mean it was just fun meeting people and getting together with people," Sherwood said.
At its height, the Venetian Village yard sale was one of the largest neighborhood sales in Colorado Springs. Kass Johns, a former organizer, said the event once drew participation from a quarter of the neighborhood's homes.
"Out of the 300 homes that exist here, 75 of them had people selling in their yard or garage, and we'd have 2 to 3 churches involved," Johns said.
She said she remembers people taking off work and traveling from out of state just to come to the neighborhood-wide yard sale.
DiNapoli said it's no surprise that neighbors were thrilled to see the event return.
"They were really happy to see the pink signs up all over town again and to see that we were doing this again because it was back in the day one of the biggest sales," DiNapoli said.
Johns said she hopes the revival helps restore something the neighborhood has been missing.
"I miss the community that this neighborhood used to be and I really hope this helps bring it back together," she said.
After a long hiatus, many new residents have moved into the Papeton neighborhood — and longtime neighbors say the yard sale is the easiest way to meet them. Sherwood said the absence was felt.
"Everybody kind of missed it because we all got a chance to meet neighbors," Sherwood said.
Neighbor Jeremy Webster agreed.
"It's hard to meet people when you're cooped up in your house all year long and this garage sale is definitely a big thing for our community here," he said.
The event is also serving as a platform to raise awareness about the Papeton Neighborhood Organization, which recently marked its first year in May. DiNapoli said the group has already made an impact.
"We've gotten an awful lot of great things done in that time, including advocating for the parks, for Flanagan Park and for Portal Park," DiNapoli said.
She also said in that time, the neighborhood group has organized Halloween events, has a monthly meet up at Storybook Brewing, and is planning a large neighborhood lunch in September.
DiNapoli said she hopes neighbors will stay engaged beyond the yard sale.
"We just keep building and telling people about it, word of mouth, and see what we're doing because it's always something fun," she said.
