Captain Charles Leonard House’s tag sale promises to be ‘historic’

May 11, 2021 | Noelia Ortiz
nortiz@thereminder.com

The Captain Charles Leonard House
Reminder Publishing submitted photo

AGAWAM – The Captain Charles Leonard House will be hosting a two–day “historic” tag sale on May 15 and 16 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Built in 1805, the Captain Charles Leonard House has served as Agawam’s Community House for more than eight decades.

They have struggled financially over the past 12 months due to a year of lost bookings and fundraisers imposed by  COVID-19, which has affected many businesses across the country. The Leonard House is a non-profit that relies solely on funding from room rentals in the Old Stagecoach Tavern, and fundraising events.

This will be the first fundraising event since closing over a year ago due to the pandemic. Most of their previous events took place indoors, but since that was not allowed due to COVID-19 state regulations, they decided to have their first event outdoors. This will allow them to have more people come together and to get residents  that may have interest in booking indoor events in the near future back to the house.

“We also had a lot of furniture and things taking up a lot of space so we decided it would be a good idea to start off with a tag sale,” Vice President of the Board of Trustees Phil Kimball said.

Tag sales are also one of their more common and successful fundraising events, Kimball said.

Offered for sale will be antiques, furniture, collectibles, china, glass, silver and new items. Crafts and vendors will also be on hand. The community is invited to participate as well, with tables offered at $25 for the weekend.

Some of the local businesses participating at the fundraiser will be McCarthy Liquors on Main Street, selling glassware, Allied Flooring and Paint, Joey’s Deli and Market, The Lion’s Club and more.

Kimball encourages all home or small business owners to reserve a table if they have anything they would like to sell. Anyone interested in reserving a table can contact Kimball at 374-5673.

The Captain Charles Leonard House is planning to have a beer and wine tasting in the upcoming months, along with planning a concert with local bands playing to help raise money to keep the house going. The events will be outdoor until they are able to start having indoor events again, where Kimball said they receive most of their funding from.

“We’re just hoping the community will come out and support us. It’s not just to have a tag sale but to keep the Leonard House here for posterity to use it,” Kimball said.

All proceeds will aid in the preservation of the National Register-listed Captain Leonard House. In case of rain, the sale will take place at the same time the following weekend, May 22 and 23. Masks and social distancing will be required, and CDC guidelines will be observed.

Call 786-9421 or visit http://captainleonardhouse.com/facilities/ for more information about rental availability. For information about events at the house, follow the Captain Charles Leonard House on Facebook at www.facebook.com/captainleonardhouse/.

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