St. Peter Barn Sale going all season this year

Volunteers from Geneva's St. Peter Catholic Church were hard at work Saturday, sorting, pricing and polishing donations for their annual barn sale fundraiser.

This year, the event previously held over a weekend in September is expanding to 10 sales over the next five months at the Campana Building at Route 31 and Fabyan Parkway in Batavia.

Organizers say the new format should be more convenient for treasure hunters who seek out the sale each year, as well as the hundreds of volunteers who make it happen.

"You can come out and get a deal the entire season, rather than waiting until September," event co-chair John Easton said. "There's a better matching of need and availability."

Launched 24 years ago as an effort to pay off church debt, the St. Peter Barn Sale gives new homes to thousands of donated items, including furniture, clothes, toys, tools and electronics, among other goods. Easton said it usually brings in $175,000 to $250,000.

On Saturday, volunteers spent the morning organizing $20 love seats, $50 clothes dryers, $10 bookshelves, and hundreds of thousands of other items for this year's opening on May 1. The sale, which runs from 9 a.m. to noon, continues on May 15, June 5 and 26, July 17 and 31, Aug. 14 and Sept. 4, 18, and 19. Admission is free.

Parishioner Norma Jaeger of Geneva, who has volunteered at the sale since its beginning, said a "wonderful following" has grown over the years, with clientele including restaurants on the hunt for decor to antique collectors and folks struggling to make ends meet.

"It services the treasure hunter and also the people in need," she said. "We also sell to a lot of antique dealers."

Paula Pikowitz, another volunteer from Geneva, said one of the most fun aspects of the sale is seeing children get bicycles that have been refurbished by volunteers.

"You should see their faces when the kids get the bikes," she said. "They're pristine."

For more information, call (630) 232-0124 or visit stpeterbarnsale.com.