FORT PAYNE – Summer is in full swing in northeastern Alabama and two events to experience before the season wraps up are a yard sale of epic proportions and an event in celebration of UFOs.
Let’s go shopping!
The first weekend in August, a once-a-year, 690-mile shopping trip brings thousands of bargain hunters and treasure seekers to DeKalb County for the ultimate shop ‘til you drop experience and the last Saturday offers a day of free family fun as the town of Fyffe comes together for its annual Fyffe UFO Day Festival.
Each year, bargain hunters, yard sale connoisseurs and treasure seekers make their way through northeastern Alabama for the biggest yard sale shopping spree in the world.
The World’s Longest Yard Sale, a once-a-year, 690-mile shopping trip also known as the 127 Yard Sale, will take place Aug 3-6. Along with shopping, treasure hunting and bargaining, there is plenty of sightseeing to do in the area.
The World’s Longest Yard Sale offers everything from antiques, collectibles, furniture and dishware to fresh local produce and homemade jams and jellies as well as food vendors and live entertainment.
There will be an estimated more than 1,000 vendors in Alabama alone. For a list of single locations and/or small areas with a minimum of 25 vendors each in Alabama, click here. For directions through the Alabama and Georgia sections, click here.
Vendors are typically up and running by 8 a.m. and operate until late in the evening each day. Shoppers are encouraged to wear comfortable shoes, insect repellent and sunscreen and to bring plenty of hand sanitizer and water.
Created to get travelers off of the interstate and into towns and communities located off the beaten path, the World’s Longest Yard Sale takes visitors on a shopping excursion through some of the country’s most scenic areas. The 93-mile Lookout Mountain Parkway has been touted “A Must See” by Reader’s Digest, National Geographic and Southern Living magazines, providing a beautiful backdrop to the thousands of roadside sales.
Beam me up
Located on the top of Sand Mountain, part of the southern-most tip of the Appalachian Mountains, is the town of Fyffe where numerous sightings of unidentified flying objects in 1989 garnered national attention for the small community.
Now recognized by the state as the UFO Capital of Alabama, the town comes together the last Saturday in August each year to host the Fyffe UFO Day Festival.
Set for Aug. 26, the 18th annual Fyffe UFO Day Festival offers hot air balloon rides, arts and crafts, games and inflatables for children, a 5k run, an antique car and tractor show, an assortment of food vendors and live music. During the one-day event, the only flying objects spotted in the sky are colorful hot-air balloons.
All activities are at Fyffe City Park from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. Admission is free. Attendees are encouraged to bring lawn chairs and picnic blankets.
Along with four days of shopping, visitors can experience a slice of real Americana, true southern hospitality, a variety of local-owned restaurants and accommodations. Nature itself is on display with majestic waterfalls, canyons, scenic brow vistas, unique towns and villages, state and national parks and preserves.
For Lookout Mountain information, click here.
