MONTPELIER, Vt. (AP) - For Patty Baroudi, the Montpelier Ski & Skate Sale is a labor of love.

For years, she was a customer at the annual sale - searching for deals on outdoor winter gear for herself and her daughter, who is now 27. For the last 10 years, however, Baroudi, a Montpelier resident, has volunteered for the fundraiser that has afforded her family such joy for so long.

“It’s just so Montpelier,” she said Saturday, taking a moment from working the checkout register, which had a continual line extending well into the crowded Montpelier High School gymnasium.

Spread out across the floor were sections of new and used equipment for both downhill and cross-country skiing, hockey and figure skates, snowboarding, snowshoes and even outdoor gear for runners.

When the doors opened at 9 a.m. on Oct. 19, Baroudi said there was already a line about 20 people deep to get in. Throughout the morning, there were no slow moments.

Families were on hand to outfit children of various ages and sizes.

William Morse, of Waterbury, was taking photos with his phone and texting his daughter, who is in college in Montana.

“She wants flashy,” he said. “I’m pretty color blind so this whole thing is kind of tricky… . But she doesn’t want to spend too much, so this is our best bet for finding what she wants.”

Two minutes later, he got the “thumbs up” emoji and was stowing a pair of skis near the door while he shopped for himself.

Baroudi said she sees people at the sale that she hasn’t seen since the year before.

“People look forward to it every year,” she boasted. “It’s community. It brings us together. And it’s a good cause.”

Baroudi attributes the success of the controlled chaos of the massive event to the head of Community Services for the City of Montpelier.

“Norma is the organizational genius,” Baroudi said. “She has this incredible system for keeping track of it (all); if you saw it, you would be stunned.”

Norma Maurice, also a Montpelier resident, has been a longtime city employee; she organizes the daylong event - long before the day. Last Saturday was her 22nd Ski and Skate Sale.

When it first started decades ago, she said it was held at the Rec Center on Barre Street. Maurice said she can remember when residents would drop off used items there, and the sale would be held inside that smaller gymnasium. When event organizers added vendors from around the Northeast, it had to be relocated to the high school gymnasium.

“Seeing it come over here is definitely bigger, better,” Maurice said.

Around 20 volunteers are involved with the sale - setting up on Friday night, tagging drop-offs, working on the floor on Saturday, and then there is the extensive clean-up. Members of the Rec Department and city staff also are on hand.

“But we couldn’t do it without the volunteers,” Maurice said.

The Rec Department depends on the sale as part of its annual budget. The sale is, by far, the largest fundraiser of the year.

The annual process starts in summer, when Save the Date letters go out to vendors. Maurice said it’s important to lock in that date, as there are ski/skate sales around New England throughout early autumn. Montpelier anchors its event to the same weekend every October.

In the days leading up to the sale, it requires a lot of coordination (and publicity) to make sure all of the bases are covered. Sometimes, Maurice said, there are glitches, but they always are worked out quickly.

Individuals or families looking for a deal - many of them coming from outside the Capital City for this sale - usually don’t walk out empty handed.

“People really look forward to it,” Maurice said. “Once a year I would see people from out in the community; it’s always good to see people… . It’s a thing for the community to come out, be social and get some great deals.”

In the narrow aisles last Saturday, vendors were offering advice (sometimes on the used equipment they weren’t even peddling). They were helping individuals get the right sizes (“Don’t forget to account for warm socks”).

As one young man clutched his new snowboard on his way to the long line at the register, the adult with him asked whether he had everything he needed.

“Snow,” he said, smiling broadly. “I need snow.”

The same anecdote played out time and again throughout the busy day, as central Vermont’s winter sports lovers “geared up.”

“It’s wonderful, isn’t it?” Baroudi posited.

Online: https://bit.ly/2MxAgKY

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Information from: The Times Argus, http://www.timesargus.com/

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