Brian Hagberg
STARBRICK, Pa. – The 2nd annual Starbrick Community Day brought friends, neighbors, and shoppers to Starbrick for a day of shopping, chicken BBQ, and fundraising.
While shoppers had a chance to turn trash into treasure, those who purchased lunch at the Starbrick VFD helped raise money for the volunteer department.
“It’s been a great fundraiser for the fire department,” said Lisa Card, one of the event’s organizers. “And it’s good all around we get rid of our unwanted things, one person’s trash is another man’s treasure.”
Though she tackled the project solo last year, it became so big, so quickly that a committee was formed to help the planning process this year.
“This year we talked and it made sense just to combine everything and Deb Wagner is now co-chair with me,” Card said. The more people involved, the better. The more people who have sales, it brings more people in. So it’s a community effort. It really is. It’s everybody working together to bring people to Starbrick.”
One of the highlights for many attendees is the chicken BBQ prepared by the Starbrick VFD.
“Last year, it was unexpected, they sold out in an hour. They were sold out,” Card said. “They have twice as many chicken dinners this year, but they sold out in a hurry.”
By 12:30 this year, firefighters were already cooking their second batch of chickens as the remaining first batch had dwindled to just six dinners.
The primary purpose of the event is to bring the community together.
“I love the idea community and I’ve seen it often if you go to Sugar Grove, Pleasant Township, Youngsville any of the small communities, they have something they’re doing something to bring everyone together,” Card said. “It also served the purpose of people getting to know each other getting out, stopping by talking to people across the four lanes. So it served its purpose, introducing people to each other who live in this area. And this is a rough place to do that with because we’re kind of broken up, unlike other communities.”
The success of the 2021 event bled over to 2022 as people began asking Card about her sale at 7 a.m. on Friday. Card said she’d also spoken to someone who drove more than 80 miles to attend the community day.
“They’re excited about it when you get any kind of community day,” Card said.
And it gives everyone the chance to meet new people.
“I love walking around meeting people and I know a lot more people than I did before,” Card said. “I want more. It’s great. Yeah. If you see people that aren’t having a sale so one way or another we’re meeting up.”
