The Oakland Museum of California’s White Elephant Sale season obtained underway Sunday with a profitable preview purchasing occasion for patrons who paid a premium to enter the massive East Oakland warehouse.
“This is my third time coming, but my first for the pre-sale,” stated Katie Burger, a Berkeley resident whose purchases included 5 books, a sweater, two good hats and a snakeskin belt with a silver buckle.
Burger, who stated she needed to get the sweater just because she spent a lot time in each the lads’s and ladies’s clothes departments, talked about {that a} pal, who misinformed her in regards to the $50 pre-sale admission charge, paid half for her.
Some 2,500 folks paid the total value to enter the 96,000-square-foot Lancaster Avenue warehouse, the longtime house of the annual rummage sale the place buyers can discover nice offers on nearly all the pieces from artwork objects to wedding ceremony robes. The profit for the Oakland Museum of California continues for the following 5 weeks.
China and silver have been plentiful on the preview day of the White Elephant Sale, a profit for the Oakland Museum of California. The sale continues most Wednesdays by Saturdays by March 2. (Leslie Katz/Bay Metropolis Information) 
Volunteers Gail Bloom and Wealthy Dodson staffed the White Elephant Sale customer support sales space on preview day. (Leslie Katz/San Francisco Examiner)
Books have been among the many objects Katie Burger of Berkeley was happy to buy on the preview day of the White Elephant Sale. (Leslie Katz/Bay Metropolis Information) 
Gadgets from sports activities gear to wedding ceremony clothes to electronics and toys may be bought an awesome costs on the White Elephant Sale. (Leslie Katz/Bay Metropolis Information)
Gail Bloom, an Oakland-born volunteer on the customer support desk, stated the sale is right for folks searching for house furnishings.
“The furniture is a really great value. For sure, it’s cheaper than Ikea, and for sure, it’s much better quality.” She additionally advisable trying out the textiles, linens, material and stitching division, and the huge collection of china and silver. She added, “Think of what your grandmother didn’t take to the nursing home.”
Art work, books, ceramics, collectibles, electronics, effective jewellery, family and kitchen objects, music, sports activities gear, toys and classic and up to date attire are among the many 19 departments of high quality used items within the sale, which runs by March 2.
Tickets, that are $7, are required for open warehouse days, that are most Wednesdays-Saturdays by Feb. 22, in addition to Feb. 17, Presidents Day. Admission is free on the ultimate clearance weekend, March 1-2, however patrons nonetheless should make on-line reservations.
The White Elephant Sale is staffed year-round by greater than 900 volunteers who soak up, type and consider plentiful donations from the general public. Throughout open warehouse days, they put on white coats and are stationed in every division, wrapping up purchases, issuing receipts and taking funds. Because the pandemic, the sale has been a no-cash operation. All purchases should be paid by bank card.
One volunteer not carrying white, nevertheless, is Wealthy Dodson, the voice of the White Elephant Sale, on the helm of the general public handle system. His amusing bulletins, about all the pieces from reuniting separated or misplaced family and friends members to warning about illegally parked vehicles across the space (notice: parking is troublesome) have earned him a cadre of followers.
Organized and introduced by the Oakland Museum Ladies’s Board, the White Elephant Sale since its inception has raised greater than $32 million to help exhibitions and programming and has served as a mission to encourage group service.
The White Elephant Sale runs from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Jan. 29-Feb. 1; Feb. 5 8; Feb. 12-15; Feb. 17, and Feb. 20-22, and from 10 a.m. to three p.m. March 1-2 at 333 Lancaster St., Oakland. Admission is $7, besides free on March 1-2. All patrons should have reservations to enter all days; go to www.whiteelephantsale.org.
