400-Mile Sale facts for kids
The 400-Mile Yard Sale, sometimes referred to as the Highway 68 Yard Sale, is an outdoor second-hand sale held annually for four days, beginning in the first weekend of June. In 2020, it was rescheduled to October 2-4 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It takes place along U.S. Route 68 (US 68) in the US state of Kentucky. It is held in almost all areas along the US 68 corridor from the east side of Paducah through central Kentucky, and ending at Maysville.
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History
In 2011, the 400-Mile Yard Sale route added Kentucky Route 80 (KY 80) from Aurora to Murray, in Calloway and Marshall counties in Kentucky.
Historically, the 400-mile sale boosts the economy of most localities along the route, most notably in Glasgow, the county seat in Barren County, as that area has the highest economical impact annually, especially with the Glasgow Highland Games taking place during the same weekend as the sale.
Further information
Areas exempt from the event
A 10-mile-long (16 km) stretch of the concurrently running US 68 and KY 80 in the Land Between the Lakes National Recreation Area in western Trigg County is excluded from the yard sale route because the recreation area is the property of a government organization, the U.S. Forest Service. Another gap in the sale route is a 20-mile long (32 km) stretch of US 68 in Metropolitan Lexington and Fayette County, which is also excluded on account of high traffic volume, especially in downtown Lexington, which is usually highly congested.
Events in the area
A town-wide yard sale in the eastern Warren County town of Smiths Grove is often held during the US 68 Yard Sale just off the highway. Elkton, the Todd County seat also has a lot of yard sales during the event, even if on other streets. The Glasgow Highland Games at Barren River Lake State Resort Park, well south of the US 68 corridor along US Route 31E, is typically held during the same weekend as the 400 mile yard sale.
The 400-mile sale on television
During the event in June 2015, the 400-mile sale was featured on two cable television programs in the same week. In the early part of the event, Great American Country’s Endless Yard Sale, a competition show where two-person teams compete against each other in search of the best antique and vintage items. Small Town Big Deal, a syndicated documentary series focusing on stories in small town communities, also filmed along the yard sale route in 2015. Both shows filmed at various yard sale spots along the corridor from Cadiz to Bowling Green to Maysville. The event is also regularly publicized on the local level on WBKO in Bowling Green as that station's studios are located on the yard sale route.
