Crestline Tent Sale returns this Saturday

July 27, 2015 4:11 PM

Crestline Tent Sale

Saturday, Aug. 22

Crestline Village

Residents can expect the same sense of community and a few new elements at this year’s Crestline Tent Sale.

The tent sale started three years ago as a way to increase summertime sales. Most retailers say summer is a tough time for business, said Suzan Doidge, executive director of the Mountain Brook Chamber of Commerce.

“In every village we try to have some sort of event that directs revenue to that particular area,” Doidge said. “Crestline Tent Sale kind of came after a great discussion, and maybe a little debate about why not all businesses could participate in Market Day.”

Market Day is a yearly sale in Mountain Brook Village that has been going on for 14 years. Crestline’s Tent Sale is similar in that it features street sales and helps merchants clear summer merchandise.

Doidge said new businesses will be involved in this year’s sale and some “next level” aspects such as trunk shows or participation from local artists could be added.

“This will be our third year. It’s been a process of growth for us,” said Julie Howell, owner of Lamb’s Ears in Crestline Village. “I think the community looks for those annual events that they almost can count on as being recurring events in the community.”

Last year’s tent sale included musical performances, and this year the Mountain Brook High School band will perform. The football team will also be there, participating in a sort of “pep rally,” Doidge said. The event will help kick off the Buy Local campaign as well as the new school year.

“That’s something new we’ve added this year that we haven’t done,” Doidge said. “Hopefully that’ll bring a lot of folks in to the community.”

She said the new band director, Jason Smith, was enthusiastic about getting involved with the community through the tent sale.

This year’s tent sale will be larger than past years, but Howell said the community has had trouble in growing the event because of a high number of restaurants. Participation from restaurant owners and non-retail businesses, however, has helped create a community atmosphere.

Chamber President and Otey’s Tavern owner Will Haver said the point of Crestline’s tent sale, however, is to not be restaurant-focused.

“I’m very sensitive to the restaurant side of things because I feel the restaurants here in this community have a lot of events and things that are geared toward them, so I’m really retail-focused here,” Haver said.

The amount of effort it takes to set up for the tent sale is another issue with getting more retailers to participate, Haver said. He hopes to get an event company involved this year, taking some of the pressure off of store owners.

“That’s the hardest part is getting people to participate because, you know, they’re busy running their stores,” Haver said. “… When you talk about man power, people aren’t really set up for that. It really is a lot of effort to make that happen.”

The benefit of the tent sale, however, comes in the sense of community. Elizabeth Roberts, also an owner at Lamb’s Ears, said bringing people out into the village helps spread a community feel and bring in new patrons.

“Many people may not come here [to Lamb’s Ears], so it’s also a way to get new customers and show them what we have,” Roberts said.

Haver said the possibility to bring in people outside of the community helps as well.

“Maybe it’s someone from outside our community who now will come into the community to support some of our local businesses,” Haver said. “It gives the community something to do. It gives the business owner a chance to showcase their store and make an introduction. Because, you know, for me, any new customer can be a lifelong customer.”

This year’s tent sale is Saturday, Aug. 22. Attendees can expect deals from Crestline shops and some restaurants in addition to the community atmosphere.