PRAIRIE GROVE -- U.S. Highway 62 in western Washington County stayed busier than normal Friday and Saturday as visitors and local residents flocked to junkin' venues in Prairie Grove, along with lots of yard sales going on in Farmington and Prairie Grove.
The Junk Ranch and Junk at the Mill, both in Prairie Grove, were celebrating their ninth spring events. Both venues also host a fall event the first weekend in October.
The city of Farmington waived yard sale permit fees for the weekend and more than 70 yard sales were going on throughout the community, according to the Facebook page about the event. Yard sales also were going on in Prairie Grove. Downtown Prairie Grove had its share of traffic also.
Amy Daniels with The Junk Ranch said the spring show had 105 vendors with 250 booths and 13 food vendors. She said there were more vintage clothing vendors this year and several vendors were personalizing and customizing items on site. The number of food vendors also was up for the spring event.
The Junk Ranch is already looking toward the tenth anniversary of its fall show and plans to add a Thursday evening date under the lights with live music, Daniels said.
Neta Faddis, who manages Junk at the Mill, held at the Washington County Milling Co., said she had 61 vendors and, of those, 20 were new vendors.
Faddis said she has many vendors who have been with Junk at the Mill since the first one.
"They've been here every time and we have become like family," Faddis said. "They are old friends now."
As its tradition now, school resource officers with Prairie Grove Police Department grilled hamburgers and hot dogs as a fundraiser for its Shop with a Cop program. Mayor David Faught, a former school resource officer, was there Friday helping out the department.
One of the new spring vendors for The Junk Ranch, Joan Palmer, said she participates in the large vintage show in Canton, Texas, every year on the same weekend. This year, Palmer, who is from Quinlan, Texas, said she decided to work her booth, Industrial Designs, in Prairie Grove and have someone else work the booth in Canton.
"I really like this show," Palmer said.
A trio of friends came shopping together at The Junk Ranch and they had their purchases piled up, waiting for a trailer to show up and take the items to a pickup spot. Two of the women, Tina McArtor and Traci Wedd, had been before. It was Kendra Riley's first time and she said she liked the variety of vendors at the vintage fair.
Sherryl High of Aurora, Mo., was in town to go to both venues and then shop at the stores in Prairie Grove. She said she considers The Junk Ranch one of the funnest vintage fairs around.
Shari Frachiseur of Texarkana made the trip north just for The Junk Ranch, the first time since seven years ago. She noted the event had really grown from that time.
One of the vendors at Junk at the Mill, Sandra Butler, said she returns every year because she likes the atmosphere of the venue. Her booth is called Short Dog Designs.
Lynn Kutter/Enterprise-Leader Sherryl High of Aurora, Mo., was in Prairie Grove on Friday, June 2, 2023, to go to The Junk Ranch, pictured above, and then to go to Junk at the Mill and the antique and thrift stores in downtown Prairie Grove.
Lynn Kutter/Enterprise-Leader Yvonne Jones of Prairie Grove shops at Junk at the Mill on Friday, June 1, 2023. The event is held at the Washington County Mill Co., a former flour mill in Prairie Grove.
Lynn Kutter/Enterprise-Leader Ron Bond of Prairie Grove, retired from Prairie Grove School District, works on a leather wallet at Junk at the Mill in Prairie Grove on Friday, June 1, 2023. He and his wife, Carla, have Arkie Leather, a home business for handcrafted leather goods. This is their first time to be a vendor at Junk at the Mill.
Lynn Kutter/Enterprise-Leader Laura Reehl of Fort Smith loads a vintage chair onto her truck after shopping at The Junk Ranch on Friday, June 2, 2023, in Prairie Grove. She and her father, John Reehl, came to the vintage show to shop for furniture for an office.
Lynn Kutter/Enterprise-Leader Ron and Heather Wilborn and their daughter, Judika, 13, make up the family singing group, the Mountain Gypsies. The band from Madison County has performed at The Junk Ranch in Prairie Grove since its first one. This is the fair's ninth spring show.
Lynn Kutter/Enterprise-Leader The red barn off U.S. Highway 62 in Prairie Grove stands out as a visual feature at The Junk Ranch in Prairie Grove. Several vendors were set up in the barn during the two-day vintage fair.
Lynn Kutter/Enterprise-Leader Shari Frachiseur of Texarkana shovels dried scented flowers into a bag while shopping at The Junk Ranch on Friday, June 2, 2023. She last attended the event seven years ago and was impressed how much it had grown since then.