Another reason to love Madison

I got this email from a sustainability group I belong to (as if having a sustainability group in your community isn't enough of a testament to living in Madison Wisconsin, there is more...)

Greetings,
Many of you may already know it as "Hippie Christmas."
In fact, people come from all over the Midwest to experience the gluttonous testament to conspicious consumption that lines the curb come Aug. 15th when leases expire across Madison and people literally abandon tons of stuff for greener pastures.
What is not salvaged ends up in the garbage, costing taxpayers thousands of dollars in landfill tipping fees and driving hapless sanitation workers into a veritable frenzy.
It could be otherwise, which is why every couple of years some folks who believe another world is possible invite the community to spread the spirit of reciprocity, mutual aid, and stewardship by bringing unwanted items to a central location for redistribution.
This year's City-Wide Free Store will be setting up shop (temporarily) at Central Park, near the corner of S. Ingersoll and E. Wilson, beginning Tues. Aug. 14th and running through Thurs. Aug. 16th.
Because the Eastside Farmers Market occurs each Tues. from 4-7 pm, folks are asked to keep the gravel area free of stuff until the market is over, at which point the free store can expand into that space.
In typical Do It Yourself (DIY) style, volunteers are welcome to drop by at any point to assist in sorting stuff into useful sections (food, clothes, dishware, sports, furniture, electronics, books, etc.). That way folks can easily find what they need. Other volunteers will be circulating around town to collect what useful items are out there and bringing them back to the free store.
With your help, we can turn unnecessary trash into someone's treasure! Questions? Feel free to call the Infoshop #262-9036

umm, isn't that awesome? Sure, someone like my mother wouldn't be caught dead going to some sort of open air free junk market, but I am glad I live in a city where volunteers get together to do something like this.