A tradition now three decades old, the annual Citywide Yard Sale in Escalon welcomed visitors from throughout the area on Saturday, Oct. 1.

This was the 30th event and sales were set up in every corner of the community. Crowd numbers appeared to be down slightly, and traffic wasn’t as congested as it has been in past years but many shoppers were delighted to be out looking for bargains.

“We’re just looking around,” said young Marissa Martinez, 11, who was hoping to find some shorts or jeans in her size at a sale along Coley Avenue. She was shopping with her mom, Tamara.

“We’re actually from Stockton,” Tamara explained. “My son is a UPS driver; he delivers here and he told us about it. This is our first time and we are enjoying it.”

Also on Coley, 12-year-old Brianna Aragon, who attends Cardozo Middle School in neighboring Riverbank, found a treasure.

“I like fans,” she said, delighted to find a decorative handheld one for sale for a reasonable price.

Over on Fifth Street, it was a mother-daughter shopping outing for mom Cheryl Bridges of Escalon and her daughter, Oakdale resident Katie Ledbetter. Mom Cheryl was finding some Halloween décor; daughter Katie was deciding whether to purchase a fashionable hat.

Furniture, toys, books, electronics, glassware … no matter what item you were looking for on Saturday, chance were good you could find it. Many families hosted individual sales while some neighborhoods joined together to offer a ‘one stop shop’ spot with multiple sales in one area.

Official hours for the sale were 8 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.; residents that paid a $5 fee to the city had their address listed on a citywide sale map that was available to shoppers.

Escalon’s American Legion, joining in this year, also reported a successful day after staging a sale outside the post rooms on Second Street, raising almost $1000, which will benefit the Veterans Assistance and Rehabilitation Program.