Items used during Middfest International being sold to pay off bills

Cultural celebration was held from 1981-2017 in downtown Middletown.

A space behind the Barbara Park Shopping Center on Roosevelt Avenue in Middletown resembles a garage sale with an international flavor.

Five years after Middfest International, a cultural celebration was last held in Middletown, thousands of items displayed and used from 1981 until 2017 are being sold during an inventory sale and photo exhibit.

The items were stored in various locations over the years, and Virginia Ritan, 87, the founder and executive director of Middfest, has paid the rent. She said proceeds from the sale will help pay off some bills.

For weeks, numerous volunteers have been busy organizing and pricing the majority of the items, while some are priced as “make an offer.”

Ritan was asked how she feels when she looks around the room that’s filled with memories.

“Sometimes sad,” she said. “It depends what I’m looking at.”

Middfest International started by celebrating Luxembourg in 1981 and continued every fall until 2017. There were educational displays throughout the City Building, entertainment, art displays and food booths on Donham Plaza, and a business conference meeting in the Manchester Inn.

The sale includes Middfest merchandise, costumes, stage equipment, props, masks, signs, lumber, murals, glass showcases, educational items and office equipment,


HOW TO GO

WHAT: Middfest International Inventory Sale and Photo Exhibit

WHEN: 11 a.m. to 6 pm. Thursday, Oct. 27; 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Friday, Oct. 28 and Saturday, Oct. 29; 1-4 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 30.

WHERE: Barbara Park Shopping Center, 3224-3232 Roosevelt Ave., Middletown. Enter through doors in the back of the shopping center.

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