GREENFIELD — One of the largest community tag sales the city has seen was a great success, says the man who conceived the idea. And the Saturday sale benefited a local cause — the fairgrounds where it was held.
“I want to see this become an annual event,” Dan Guin said. “When I thought about it about six months ago, I kept saying it would be so good for Greenfield.”
Guin, director of WHAI radio in Greenfield and a former city councilor, said when he came up with the idea, he immediately thought of the Franklin County Fairgrounds, especially since it is looking at a possible half-million dollar project. He was able to pull it off with the backing of radio stations WHAI 98.3 FM, Bear Country 95.3 FM and The Outlaw 92.3/AM700.
“I heard about the mudslide that happened on the embankment at the fairgrounds, and that they need to raise money to shore it up, and I knew it would be a perfect way to raise money for a good cause,” he explained.
Guin said the event raised about $5,000 of the $500,000 needed for the project.
A few years ago, Franklin County Agricultural Society President Fred Steiner received an emergency call while at the post office. A water wagon had tumbled from the edge of the Franklin County Fairgrounds after a big ravine had opened up along the edge of the plateau off Wisdom Way.
A year later, Steiner received a panicky call from a Linwood Street resident below the fairgrounds at the foot of the plateau. Steiner arrived and looked up the embankment toward the fairgrounds to see the problem was getting worse.
“It was like opening up a fire hydrant and watching all the dirt come out,” Steiner said.
The erosion threatens not just homes below the fairgrounds, but potentially the annual county fair’s solvency itself.
Guin said he contacted Steiner and Vice President Michael Nelson to see if the community tag sale could be held at the fairgrounds, with proceeds going toward the mudslide project. He said they immediately welcomed the idea.
“We are incredibly pleased with the results of the first annual community tag sale,” Nelson said. “It was a great partnership between the radio stations and us.”
Nelson said FCAS continues to work with the federal government — an office of the U.S. Department of Agriculture — to see what can be done.
“Engineers are looking at ways to solve the problem without having to alter the ecology much,” Nelson said. “We want to know what the best, most cost-effective way to do this is. The project, if we can get some federal funding, as well, could cost $100,000 or could cost $500,000. We’re hoping it’s on the lower end, but that’s not guaranteed.”
Nelson said engineers should have some answers by the end of the summer.
“We know we’re probably going to have to regrade the slope and put in new sewer lines down the embankment,” he said. “We’d just like to have the USDA find an alternate project that costs less.”
Nelson said no matter what, FCAS will have to match some of the funding it might receive from the government.
“We’ll just continue to raise money and see what happens,” he said.
Guin said participants in the community tag sale were charged $10 for a 10-foot booth and $10 for every 10 feet after that — he said some people wanted 40- or 50-foot spaces, so they paid $40 or $50. That money went to cover the costs of the tag sale.
“We didn’t charge people to enter but did ask for donations for the mudslide project, and we charged for parking, which also went toward the project,” he said. “We also had sponsors.”
He said some vendors donated the money they raised there.
“We wanted to make the event available to everyone who wanted to sell their wares,” Guin said. “That’s why we didn’t charge a lot for booth space.”
He said about 10 nonprofits participated and raised money for their own purposes.
“Thousands of people showed up,” he said. “It looked like the fair was going on.”
Guin said there were about 150 10-foot spots with people selling everything from antiques to toys and housewares to books — everything you would find at a typical tag sale. He said several of the buildings were used, including the Roundhouse, the baby barnyard, the barns where cows are housed during the fair and the gazebo, to name a few.
“All of the grassy areas as you come through the gate to the left were full,” he said. “It was amazing.”
He said numerous food vendors participated, some even running out of food for a short time.
“It was more than we ever could have imagined,” Guin said. “It was everything we wanted it to be. We’re going to do this community tag sale again, but it’s going to be even bigger and better next year.”
The agricultural society has been running a GoFundMe page, where it has just started raising money toward the $500,000 it needs. It is also accepting donations at: FCAS, P.O. Box 564, Greenfield, MA 01302-0564. Write “mudslide fundraiser” on the memo line.
Reach Anita Fritz at 413-772-0261, ext. 269 or afritz@recorder.com.