SUPERIOR – A huge community yard sale took off Saturday in the gym of the old schoolhouse in Superior.

Organized and sponsored by Mike and Jackie Perotti, owners of Jackie’s Home Cooking, the event was arranged as a way for people to “have a nice warm place to come in and sell their stuff.”

According to Mike, while there are bazaars and craft fairs throughout the year, the area does not have any community-wide events for people to sell their own things. This was something they wanted to provide.

Mike felt that since the Saturday Market and the DeBorgia Market were no longer going, it would be nice to have a place for the community to come and sell stuff.

The gym looked just like a yard sale or flea market during the event. People had the items they were selling arrayed on their tables and on the floor surrounding it, allowing people to browse at their leisure but ready to answer questions if they came up.

People were selling everything imaginable. One table had vintage comics, one had children’s toys and baby furniture, several had assorted decorative items. One person even brought homemade baked goods, including cookies, bread and cakes, to sell along with her holiday decorations and other items.

With the community nature of the event, conversation was all over the place, going from casual to professional and back in an instant. Shoppers would look over a table’s wares while talking casually with the vendor. As soon as any questions had been answered or a transaction negotiated, the conversation would seamlessly go back to where it had left off.

Saturday was the first time the Perottis have hosted an event of this kind, though Mike said there have been similar events in the past. They hope to hold a community yard sale again if it turns out to be popular among the community, possibly making it a regular occurrence.

“If it goes well, maybe it’s something we’ll do once a month,” said Mike.

The Perottis wanted to “sponsor the community,” donating everything and expecting nothing in return. People wanting to sell things were not charged for space or heat costs and none of the proceeds went to the Perottis.

According to Mike, they do these sorts of things out of a desire to help their neighbors.

“Our inspiration is all the help the community gave us in Jackie’s time of need,” said Mike. “That’s why we host events, to give back to [the community].”