During the first four days of this month, October 1-4, the state highway that runs from Maben to Newton is the place to be and the route to follow for one of Mississippi’s most enjoyable weekends – the semiannual Highway 15 Yard Sale (https://www.facebook.com/groups/660499104135056/).
If you have never attended this iconic highway yard sale, it is truly a must-do for Mississippians and tourists from surrounding states as well. Even if flea markets and yard sales are not your favorite pastime, this sale is so much more.
For attendees, there will be hundreds of vendors spread along the highway from Newton to Maben, but there will also be a wide array of amazing food trucks and multiple vendors providing an array of activities for kids and adults alike, including face painting, bouncy houses, and more.
The fun continues from town to town, with larger collections of vendors in towns like Decatur, Union, Neshoba, and Mathiston. In fact, the Flea Market in Union, Mississippi, offers hundreds of vendors in one location. So, have no fear – the shopping and picking opportunities are just about endless.
There are also single vendors spread along the route, but event organizer Timothy Bozeman reminds those attending the sale that no vendor should be set up more than a mile from Highway 15. This rule promotes the safety of all attendees and helps ensure that no one wastes valuable shopping time getting lost along the route.
Bozeman actually started the Highway 15 Yard Sale in 2017, and it has grown exponentially in the nine years since that original sale. Each year, during the first full weekend of March and the first weekend of October, people literally come from all over the state and from multiple other states to search for treasures and bargains along this route.
I, for one, love flea markets and yard sales. My sister and I have taken lots of trips and had adventures following several multi-state yard sales throughout the eastern portion of the United States. I have to say that my favorite memories from those trips were not the amazing pieces of pottery and antiques I bought for pennies on the dollar, though I cherish each piece and love recounting the stories of those bargains. My favorite memories from those lengthy sales center on the moments spent with my sister and the people we met along those yard sale routes.
As such, I know without a doubt that Mississippians will make our weekend guests feel right at home as they shop their way along Highway 15. I would even bet that people will take home some great treasures and even greater stories about the unbelievable hospitality experienced – right here in our home state.
So, get ready for a great weekend. And have no fear, this sale goes on rain or shine. In fact, sometimes the best deals are found during rainy day sales.
But just in case the predicted weather hangs out over Highway 15 a little too long, it might not hurt to go ahead and start singing, “Rain, rain, go away. Come again another day!”
