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Qualicum Beach Museum forced to sell off artifacts

The Qualicum Beach Museum’s loss will be smart shoppers’ gain when organizers hold their annual garage sale fundraiser on Saturday, May 12.
23701parksvilleSeniorsbazaar
Shirley Cotton displays a collection of spoons to Qualicum Beach Seniors Activity Centre president Maggie Coleman at the annual fundraising bazaar Saturday. Like in past years

The Qualicum Beach Museum’s loss looks likely to become smart shoppers’ gain when organizers hold their annual garage sale fundraiser on Saturday, May 12.

Museum manager Netanja Waddell said this year’s event will feature more than the usual assortment of household items donated by the membership.

“This year is going to be unique because we are adding some of our artifacts to the sale,” she said. “It won’t be items of great, great value, but for instance we have had five sewing machines donated so we are selling a few of those.”

The move comes as the museum scrambles to find a home for a number of items that had been stored at the nearby Qualicum Beach train station building, which they had to vacate in preparation for the resumption of passenger rail service on the line.

“We have an extreme lack of space,” Waddell said. “We were recently thrown a curve ball because we had some things in the train station and we had to empty it.”

Although the museum is currently raising funds for an addition to the current Beach Ave. facility, any storage opportunities it might offer will come far in the future.

Beside the sewing machines, she said the museum hopes to sell off an old wooden ironing board, a headboard, antique mirror and some vintage tools.

As well, she said, yard salers will be able to purchase more modern items.