BETHEL – Named this year to SKIING magazine’s “Top 5 Eastern Ski Swaps,” the Bethel Outing Club Ski Sale will celebrate its 27th anniversary the last weekend in October with a dozen shops and thousands of alpine, telemark, cross county and snowboard items.

Sale hours will be 6:30 to 9 p.m. Friday, Oct. 26, and 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 27, at the Gould Academy Field House, Church Street.

New this year, select items that have not sold by 11 a.m. Saturday will be subject to “blue tag special” discounts. Individuals are also invited to bring non-obsolete equipment to sell, subject to a 15 percent consignment fee, any time after noon Friday, Oct. 27.

Tags are available at the sale for 50 cents per tag, or for “express check-in,” in advance at the Bethel Area Chamber of Commerce, with up to four tags for free and 25 cents per additional tag. Persons with more than five items are encouraged to complete their tickets prior to the sale.

Since 1980, sale proceeds have provided ski equipment to the cross country ski programs in the local schools, free or low-cost instruction and coaching, and a variety of outdoor programs for children and adults.

The purpose of the Bethel Outing Club is to promote Nordic skiing and family-oriented outings, with particular emphasis on youth ski programs. Details about the ski sale and the club are available at www.bethelouting.org or by calling Kirk Siegel at 824-0717. Dozens of volunteers are required to run the sale, and to arrange a time slot the contact person is Beth Clarke at [email protected].