The U.S. 127 Corridor Sale is set for next weekend with the official dates Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday, August 7-10.

The 690-mile yard sale extends from Addison, Michigan to Gadsden, Alabama. Headquarters for the event are at the Fentress County Chamber of Commerce in Jamestown, Tennessee.

This year will mark the 27th year of the sale and is labeled the World’s Longest Yard Sale.

The original intent of the sale was to prove the back roads have something to offer, and that the interstate system was not the only mode for travel.

County officials put together a list of attractions along the route in Kentucky and Tennessee. There are over three hundred attractions along the route to provide enjoyment for the family.

The Lookout Mountain Parkway Association asked to be included in the sale route a few years after the sale began. The Lookout Mountain Parkway leaves Chattanooga at Highway 58 and becomes several different highway numbers before reaching Gadsden.

It is no longer US 127, but is the same great sale. This routing crosses the Northwest corner of Georgia, going into Cloudland. This added another 100 miles to the already existing 350 miles, thus making it 450 miles at that time, which in turned made the sale “The World’s Longest Yard Sale.”

It all started with the Fentress County Chamber of Commerce in Jamestown, Tennessee. The chamber of commerce has served as headquarters for the 127 Corridor Sale since 1995.

Fentress County also claims to be the origin of the sale as Mike Walker, the County Executive in 1987, came up with the idea of the sale.

Thousands of people participate in the sale each year as vendors and with Hwy. 127 running through the middle of Clinton County, Albany has a host of both vendors and customers with one of the most popular places being the Mountain View Road Side Park.

Vendors also set up in front of the old Ford Garage on KY Hwy 90, which now serves as a link from Hwy 127 to the Hwy 127 Bypass.

Johnny McLerran from Celina, Tenn., said last year he has been coming and setting up in the same location for about 14 years.

McLerran said he has met people from all over the United States and even some outside the lower 48, including Guatemala.

“It seems like every year there will be different states that show up. One year it seemed like everybody was from Texas,” McLerran said last year.

Many visitors plan their vacations around the sale event, with some traveling the entire 690 miles.

Even though the event does cause traffic congestion, the sale is good for the economy.

Locals sell their crafts, accommodations are filled, restaurants are crowded, and those renting vendor spaces also add to the local economy.

For more information regarding the annual Hwy 127 Corridor Sale, log on to www.127sale.com.