Somewhere amid the stacks of CDs, sweaters and kitchenware — not to mention a pile of mint-condition ceramic fruit — Connie Workman knew the perfect holiday present lay in wait.
The trouble was finding it.
"It's fascinating," said Workman, who brought her granddaughter Katie in tow to the eighth annual Ashland Abundance Swap. "There are so many things. I don't know what we're going to get."
The Workmans were just two of more than 100 residents who piled into the Historic Ashland Armory on Sunday afternoon to buy and barter at the event, which has become a local holiday tradition.
"We are delighted to mark the beginning of the gift season this way," Abundance Swap coordinator Jeff Golden said as he greeted visitors while they entered the armory's main hall. "This has come to be a very special event."
Visitors from around the valley brought their new, used and handmade items to the armory, in the hopes of exchanging them as gifts. Hundreds of dollars worth of items were exchanged among community members — though no money changed hands.
*Posted by Shelby. "Another interesting manifestation of the re-emerging barter economy! Onward toward new models for economic wealth and community well-being..."
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