St. Mary Catholic gets ready to rummage

There’s no need to search far and wide for your must-have treasures this season.

The St. Mary, Star of the Sea, Catholic Church Women’s Guild’s annual Royal Rummage Sale will offer all you could wish for at this year’s event Friday, March 1, and Saturday, March 2.

The event kicks off with the early-bird sale from noon to 4 p.m. on March 1 with a $5 entrance fee. Those who attend the Friday sale will have first dibs on the items featured.

Event co-chairwoman Ingrid Wisniewski said the sale is all about being able to find good items for just a couple bucks.

The sale will feature the same items as it has in the past – clothing, jewelry, furniture, artwork, antiques and other household items.

Wisniewski said the guild is “bursting at the seams” with donations, which they’ve been collecting since August.

At first, Wisniewski was worried red tide would effect the number of donations as some people delayed their return to Longboat Key, but she said the influx of donations has “more than made up” for the slow start.

Once a week, volunteers would gather in the church’s social hall for lunch and to organize the donated items. Wisniewski said that fellowship is why the sale is so important to her.

“My favorite part about the rummage sale is the spirit, the family that we have,” she said.

About 50 people help each week, but as the event nears, more than 100 people volunteer.

“It’s one of our real community spirit-building efforts that has drawn a lot of people together, and they come and make friends and meet old friends and just have a good time,” Wisniewski said. “I think that’s the main thing about it.”

And not only do parishioners volunteer, but they also donate a lot of the items that are for sale, along with other island residents.

“I always tell them to simplify their lives,” she said.

Proceeds from the rummage sale go directly to charity. When choosing which charities to donate to, Wisniewski said she isn’t sure where this year’s proceeds will go, but they are looking at less-fortunate parishes, Catholic education and pro-life organizations.