LAWAI — Ramon Martinez of Lawai found a couple of items Sunday he just couldn’t pass up. “Look at this,” an elated Martinez said, showing off a limited edition basketball and a Japanese sickle. “This was just $4. The sickle
LAWAI — Ramon Martinez of Lawai found a couple of items Sunday he just couldn’t pass up.
“Look at this,” an elated Martinez said, showing off a limited edition basketball and a Japanese sickle. “This was just $4. The sickle sells for around $10 in stores, and it was only $1. The basketball is a bonus. I never thought I would find one, so now we’re going to play basketball.”
Peter Rayno of Hanamaulu found a new machete that he said he could use to clean up the old Hanamaulu graveyard.
“I was going to get the Joe Montana jersey, but it’s too long,” the Hanamaulu shopper said. “Look at Ernie Domingo. He found some oversized playing cards.”
The Lawai Cannery Self Storage and Warehouse garage sale re-opened Sunday to an eager crowd following a short hiatus.
“The last one we did was in September,” said Lorna Santos of the Lawai Cannery Self Storage and Warehouse. “But there have been a lot of people calling and asking for it so we held this one to benefit the Easter Seals of Hawaii, Kauai Branch.”
Liz Ann Vidinha of the Easter Seals said they used the event to coincide with their Molokai Sweetbread sales pickup as well. The Easter Seals program benefits when the Lawai Cannery offers them booth space so they can sell rummage and other items as well as accommodate the bread pickup. Registration fees from the participating vendors are all turned over to the Easter Seals, which provides individualized family-centered services to people with disabilities or special needs to achieve their goals and live independent, fulfilling lives.
“Everything we make is split between the three Kauai centers, Waimea, Lihue and Kapaa, for the participants’ activities,” Vidinha said. “This includes the special programs participants want during the Summer Bash, a year-end holiday lunch, and an annual dinner for their families. Having this annual fundraiser means it’s that much less families need to spend.”
She said traditionally the Easter Seals hosts two garage sale fundraisers each year. This is the only one they will have this year, however. During the past three years the Easter Seals has been participating with the Lawai Cannery in the garage sales, Vidinha said about $5,000 is raised on each sale.
“This is really good,” said Sharmaine Simao, one of the 35 participating vendors. “I was one of Lorna’s original vendors at this garage sale when she started it six years ago. I was selling things out of the unit I was renting. Now, whatever we sell, we turn over to the benefiting nonprofit organization.”
She said being part of the garage sale is a great way to meet friends and people you never get to see, except at the garage sale.
Santos, whose spot was relocated to an area behind the self storage units, said the garage sale has always sold out to vendors, and there is still a demand for more space.
“We’re getting busier with rentals,” she said. “That means less space available for vendors. We really appreciate the community’s response to the garage sale, and all we can say is to keep watching for the next one. We don’t know when it’ll be, but we’ll let them know.”
