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The Junior Service League Attic Sale, a LaGrange tradition since 1974, has been cancelled for 2020 due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

Bargain hunters need not despair, however. League members have been collecting sale items all year and will offer an array of bargains for sale via Facebook, beginning next week.

“We made this painful decision with great regret, but out of concern for the safety of our shoppers and volunteers,” said Jessica Harrill, Attic Sale chairwoman.

Factors influencing the decision included the impossibility of fully sanitizing the thousands of donated items, state-mandated restrictions on large gatherings and the likelihood that the sale location, the Callaway Conference Center at West Georgia Tech, will remain unavailable for public use beyond the scheduled sale date, Oct. 3.

“Attic Sale is a beloved tradition in the community, as well as the League’s largest fundraiser,” said Nicole Spivey, JSL president. “We can scarcely imagine the first Saturday in October without Attic Sale, but we are hopeful that the community will support the Facebook sales and help offset some of the lost revenue.”

The Facebook sales will be held monthly from July through November. Community members can participate by joining a newly-created Facebook group named JSL 2020 Attic Sale. The first sale will begin at 7 p.m. on July 20 and will primarily include furniture, Harrill said.

To make a purchase, group members will comment their email address on a pictured item. The first person to comment claims the item and will have 24 hours to pay their invoice or the item goes to the next person who commented.  Items must be picked up at a designated location on a given date.

Attic Sale is the third major Junior Service League event sidelined by the health crisis. The Taste of the Town festival in March was also cancelled, and the Sweet Land of Liberty youth parade was held virtually on July 4.

“Like many other organizations, we are feeling a sense of loss during these difficult times,” Spivey said. “Our proper role now is to act in the community’s best interest and focus on returning stronger and more committed than ever to serving and supporting local causes once we move past this crisis.”