June 18-20 ‘More on 34’ yard sale to stretch 140 miles

More on 34, set for Friday, June 18, to Sunday, June 20, features yard sales, antique shows, craft shows, flea markets and farmers’ markets in towns along U.S. 34 towns all the way to Galesburg, south of the Quad Cities. (Photo provided)

From press release

CAMBRIDGE, Ill.—There will be more to see—and buy—at this year’s “More on 34” event, the annual cavalcade of commerce along U.S. Highway 34 through northern Illinois. That’s because Yorkville, just east of Chicago, will be participating this year.

More on 34, set for Friday, June 18, to Sunday, June 20, features yard sales, antique shows, craft shows, flea markets and farmers’ markets in towns along U.S. 34 towns all the way to Galesburg, south of the Quad Cities.

In its fifth year, More on 34 has grown in popularity. Bargain hunters, antique buyers and collectors from across the United States turn the weekend event into a 140-mile treasure hunt through the heart of Illinois in search of the rare finds and unique gifts. Local church groups stage fund-raisers in their parking lots. Independent dealers set up roadside shops.

“This is such a great event, a good way to find bargains, meet new people and see the Illinois countryside that a lot of people don’t get to experience,” said Cathy Foes, director of the Henry County Tourism Bureau in Cambridge, Ill.

Other participating communities are Galesburg, Wataga, Oneida, Altona, Galva, Kewanee, Neponset, Sheffield, Wyanet, Dover, LaMoille, Mendota, Earlville, Leland, Somonauk, Sandwich, Plano, Yorkville and Aurora.

In addition, many communities along the More on 34 route will stage special events and celebrations that same weekend.

The biggest is Blues on the Fox, a two-day music event in downtown Aurora. Seven different acts will perform Friday and Saturday nights. Guitar legend Jimmie Vaughan is the Saturday night headliner.

Mendota celebrates Railroad Crossing Days on both days and puts on a YMCA 5K Run/Walk on Sunday.

Earlville will bring in a well-known professional antique appraiser at Maple Leaf Park from noon to 4 p.m. During the 2009 event, someone brought in for appraisal a cloth-bound book that turned out to be worth $11,000. If the binding had not been torn, the appraiser said, it would have been worth $25,000.

Sandwich will be the site of a car show, sponsored by Carousel Sound, Friday, June 18, from 6 to 9 p.m., at the Timber Creek Inn & Suites and Convention Center.

The pig roast and karaoke begin at 9 p.m. Saturday, June 19, Timber Creek hosts a Hi-Infidelity concert that begins at 7:30 p.m.

One thing you can collect for free during More on 34—great stories from interesting people. At last year’s event, More on 34 founder Glenn Schwarm met two women who had rented a truck and set out to furnish an entire household. By Saturday morning, when he met them in Wyanet, the women had already bought a dining room set and living room furniture. They were on their way to Galesburg.

More on 34 organizers in Oneida said they booked space last year to a dozen out-of-state vendors, some as far away as Florida. The Bureau County Fairgrounds Show had more than 40 vendors selling everything from antique furniture to glassware. A Kewanee antique dealer made a handsome profit by buying etchings for $100 and reselling them for $800.

Print This Article