Mt. Prospect Village-Wide Garage Sale this weekend

One of the biggest community garage sales in the suburbs, the Mount Prospect Village-Wide Garage Sale, involved 503 houses last year and thousands of visitors.

This year, the sale's 21st, more than 500 homes again are opening their garages to shoppers Friday to Sunday, May 16-18.

The participating homes are all over town, so you'll need a map. Printed maps of participating homes are available throughout Mount Prospect.

You can also visit www.MPGarageSale.com to browse hundreds of Mount Prospect garage sale ads, find map pickup locations, and more. You can do a keyword search to find specific items.

Picket Fence Realty is the event organizer and will continue to sponsor the event this year even though it was burned out of its downtown Mount Prospect storefront office in February. The business has relocated to 400 W. Central Road, Mount Prospect.

"What started as a temporary location will become our permanent home, as we are finding the visibility and building suit us well," says Tom Zander, managing broker and co-owner of Picket Fence Realty.

"Although we've had to hustle, the garage sale weekend will take place exactly as it has for the last 20 years," he said.

The community garage sale started in 1993 when a resident suggested that Picket Fence's Real Estate newsletter would be a great way to organize an event. The concentration of garage sales in the center of town reflects an area that has participated the longest. Since 2002, all village residents have been invited to participate.