Our 27th sale was held on Sept 23-24 in the Manitoba Room of the Keystone Centre in Brandon.  On Friday we had a great turnout for our BBQ farmer sausage, vereniki, coleslaw, and fruit platz supper.  Over 600 plates were served, a record for our Friday BBQ.  After the meal there was public previewing of the items displayed in about a dozen areas that would be available for purchase or auction on Saturday.  Our sale includes produce, meat (mainly farmers sausage), baked goods, children’s toys, books, puzzles and games, plants, crafts including quilts, Ten Thousand Villages, gently used household items, larger miscellaneous used goods, a silent auction area, and a main auction area. At 7:00, the Keenagers, a singing group from Winnipeg provided a program of songs.

Saturday morning our doors opened at 8:30 to a crowd of people heading to their pre-targeted table to be the first at their chosen items.  As usual the line-up at the dozen meat freezers lengthened -  as shoppers were anxious to purchase their annual supply of the farmers sausage.  Most of it was sold in about an hour.

At 10:00 many children and an equal number of adults were focused, fascinated, and superbly entertained by a ventriloquist.

From 11:00 – 1:00 a meal was available at the Roadhouse in the Canad Inn,  attached to the Keystone Centre. The fundraising lunch was served to about 150 people.

Our silent auction closed at 1:00 raising over $4000 as the main auction started. Our total revenue for the 2011 sale was $109,700 and with the $21,600 of Cycle Clear Lake held in July our present total is $131,300!   

The totals rounded to the nearest $100 were as follows:

• Meat                                  $41,900    
• Donations                          $17,300                 
• Meals, Pie/Coffee             $10,200    
• Penny Power                      $8500        
• Crafts(including Quilts)    $7400       
• Baked Goods                     $4500  
• Silent Auction                    $4100   
• Misc Goods                       $3800          
• Books                                 $3100       
• Produce                              $2900      
• Auction(excluding crafts)  $2200       
• Other                                  $3800                                 
• Sub-Total                           $109,700   
• Cycle Clear Lake              $21,600     
• Grand Total                       $131,3000   
•  
• Ten Thousand Villages    $3000           

At our celebration evaluation dinner on Monday, Sept 26, the volunteers present voted to begin planning for sale #28 on Sept 21-22, 2012.