Donations sought for Gayrage Sale encore

Published 7:43 pm Friday, July 31, 2020

Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

NATCHEZ — If you missed the good deals at this year’s annual Gayrage Sale, you are in luck.

Members of Y’all Means All Natchez were so happy with this year’s event, they are planning an encore of the annual fundraiser.

“We were very successful and very happy,” John Grady Burns said. “We probably sold three-quarters of what we had.”

Email newsletter signup

Y’all Means All Natchez is a local non-profit dedicated to a more open, accepting, and active community that embraces a diversity of perspectives, lifestyles and cultures. Many of its members are active in the local LGBTQ community.

When the first Gayrage sale in July was over, Burns and fellow Y’all Means All Natchez member Jason Dauphin said they still had enough left over for what they hope will be another successful fundraiser for local suicide prevention and mental health services.

“We said, ‘Let’s collect donations for another three or four weeks and we can do it again,” Burns said. “We want to get the word out that we are collecting donations again for another sale.”

Like the first event, the second Gayrage Sale will be at the former National Furniture Company location on the corner of Commerce and Franklin Street.

“We are so thankful that Derek Pyron agreed to let us use the space,” Dauphin said.

The event is planned for Sept. 5-6. On Saturday, Sept. 5, the sale will be from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. On Sunday, Sept. 6,  the sale will be from 8 a.m. to noon on Sunday.

“Sunday will be half price day,” Burns said.

People are encouraged to bring masks. Hand sanitizer will be available.

Everything from furniture and housewares to clothes and electronics will be sold at the event.

“We had flat screen TVs that we were selling for $10,” Dauphin said about the first sale. “In the first hour the TVs were gone.”

Burns and Dauphin said they hope to have similar deals, although they couldn’t promise $10 televisions this time.

Burns said the group is again collecting donations from the public. For the first sale, the group had more donations than they were able to display.

“We needed more tables and we couldn’t get them,” Burns said.

Anyone with donations can call Burns’ store, The Nest, at 601-446-3011 to set up a time to meet and collect items.

Proceeds from the event will be added to money collected from the Y’all Means All Natchez Weekend, the group’s biggest fundraiser.

Because of COVID-19, this year’s big weekend set for Oct. 23-25 will take place at the old Isle of Capri parking lot with a format that allows for people to celebrate safely.

“It will be outside and allow for social distancing,” Burns said. “We will have somewhat the same format as last year, but it will be a little more casual and a little more fun.”

Last year the group collected $20,000 for suicide prevention and mental health. With money from a second Gayrage Sale, Burns and Dauphin hope to top last year’s proceeds.

“We would love to donate even more money this year,” Dauphin said.