If you have a coupon, you will need to add a code word to use it. Here is your code word: THRIFT

The coupon is good through May 31, 2010. Enjoy!

Book lovers, rejoice.

The Community Closet has recently acquired boxes and boxes of books. Mass market, trade, quality fiction and non-fiction, hardback and paperback, text-books, cookbooks, fun books, coffee table books, contemporary books, vintage books, kids books. You name it and it is among the books that cover half a dozen tables. It’s a treasure hunt, and you are very likely to leave with more than a few books. At 50 cents for hardcover, and 25 cents for paperback, who can resist?

In photo below: Amanda Knuchel enjoys some book browsing.

There are so many books that we are re-stocking tables regularly with new selections and moving out older stock for donation to the Sister City Garage Sale.

Click any image for a larger view.

LIVINGSTON – Calamity J. Marmot, official weather-seer of The Community Closet thrift store’s annual Marmot Madness event, last year did not see her shadow and, thus, predicted an early spring.

She was spot on.

“Last year was our first Marmot Madness event, and the marmot correctly forecast an early spring,” Caron Cooper, Community Closet executive director, said. “So I like to say that the marmot method is 100 percent accurate to date.”

That accuracy record will be put to the test this year on Feb. 2, otherwise known as Groundhog Day. That morning at 10 o’clock, Calamity will return to her perch outside the Community Closet to predict whether Livingston will have an early spring or an extended winter.

“No shadow means good news, we’ll get an early spring, and we’ll have a storewide 50 percent-off-everything sale,” Cooper said. “If there’s a shadow, that’s bad news, so we’re going to sweeten things up with a free winter hat! It’s a win/win for us, because we’ll have a good time, no matter what.”

And it won’t just be Livingston watching this time.

Last February’s Marmot Madness caught the attention of Punxsutawney Phil’s official handler, Ben Hughes, who sent along what Cooper called a “gracious introduction into the world of rodent weather forecasting.”

Punxsutawney Phil has rolled out of his home in Punxsutawney, Penn., every Feb. 2 for 123 years to predict when winter will end.

“Congratulations on your recent Groundhog Day promotions — imitation is the highest form of flattery,” Hughes wrote in an e-mail on Feb. 3, 2009. “Phil got a kick out of your initiatives. It’s a small world and Phil is always looking for his fans and foes.”

The Community Closet organized the Made-in-Montana version of the event because Cooper said she was convinced a local marmot would provide a more accurate forecast for this region than a groundhog in Pennsylvania.

Before the 2009 event, the store held a contest to name the marmot. The winning submission came from Cathy Pappert and was one of more than 50 entries in the contest.

The 2009 event “and the excitement we generated at the store was a lot of fun, right in the middle of winter,” Cooper said. “We’re a nonprofit thrift store. Business is always slower in the winter because bad weather makes it difficult for donors as well as customers, to get out and about. The Marmot Madness event brought in lots of people and just re-energized us.”

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LIVINGSTON – Calamity J. Marmot, official weather-seer of The Community Closet thrift store’s annual Marmot Madness event, last year did not see her shadow and, thus, predicted an early spring.

She was spot on.

“Last year was our first Marmot Madness event, and the marmot correctly forecast an early spring,” Caron Cooper, Community Closet executive director, said. “So I like to say that the marmot method is 100 percent accurate to date.”

That accuracy record will be put to the test this year on Feb. 2, otherwise known as Groundhog Day. That morning at 10 o’clock, Calamity will return to her perch outside the Community Closet to predict whether Livingston will have an early spring or an extended winter.

“No shadow means good news, we’ll get an early spring, and we’ll have a storewide 50 percent-off-everything sale,” Cooper said. “If there’s a shadow, that’s bad news, so we’re going to sweeten things up with a free winter hat! It’s a win/win for us, because we’ll have a good time, no matter what.”

And it won’t just be Livingston watching this time.

Last February’s Marmot Madness caught the attention of Punxsutawney Phil’s official handler, Ben Hughes, who sent along what Cooper called a “gracious introduction into the world of rodent weather forecasting.”

Punxsutawney Phil has rolled out of his home in Punxsutawney, Penn., every Feb. 2 for 123 years to predict when winter will end.

“Congratulations on your recent Groundhog Day promotions — imitation is the highest form of flattery,” Hughes wrote in an e-mail on Feb. 3, 2009. “Phil got a kick out of your initiatives. It’s a small world and Phil is always looking for his fans and foes.”

The Community Closet organized the Made-in-Montana version of the event because Cooper said she was convinced a local marmot would provide a more accurate forecast for this region than a groundhog in Pennsylvania.

Before the 2009 event, the store held a contest to name the marmot. The winning submission came from Cathy Pappert and was one of more than 50 entries in the contest.

The 2009 event “and the excitement we generated at the store was a lot of fun, right in the middle of winter,” Cooper said. “We’re a nonprofit thrift store. Business is always slower in the winter because bad weather makes it difficult for donors as well as customers, to get out and about. The Marmot Madness event brought in lots of people and just re-energized us.”

Besides, she said, “we have some really creative people working and volunteering here, and Marmot Madness lets everyone work together on a fun event. And personally, I love working at a place where hosting parties is part of the job description.”

So Cooper’s not too worried about the weather.

Hughes agreed with that sentiment.

“We like to say: ‘There are a lot of serious and important things in life and Groundhog Day is not one of them,’ ” he wrote in his e-mail.

The Community Closet is a nonprofit organization that sells affordable pre-owned merchandise donated by community members. Additionally, no-cost store merchandise is offered to other nonprofits (including teachers) and vouchers to those who can’t afford needed purchases. Profits are redistributed by the board of directors on a quarterly basis to other nonprofits and charitable activities in Park County. Since 2005, the organization has reinvested more than $85,000 in Park County’s people and nonprofit institutions.

The Community Closet thrift store, 416 E. Park St., is open Monday through Friday 10 am to 5:30 pm, and Saturday 8 am to 4:00 pm. The Alley Annex, where everything sells for a quarter or less, is open just one day a week, Sunday, from noon to 4 p.m. It is located behind the Community Closet thrift store.

UPDATE: February 1, 2010 – In January, the Community Closet donated 10% of store revenue to the Livingston Food Pantry. The total contribution came to $2,204, with $1,952 coming from the pledged 10% of store revenue, and $252 coming from cash donations made at the store. Thank you everyone for your support.

December 30, 2009 – In January the Community Closet will donate10% of revenues to the Livingston Food Pantry. Please support the Pantry by donating to the Community Closet in January. We’ll post progress toward our goal of raising $2000 for the Pantry here every day but Sunday.

Through 1/31 : $2,204

Please call 222-6200 to schedule a pickup of furniture or other household items that you cannot bring to the store.

You’ll find our donation guidelines here.

For more information about how the Livingston Food Pantry serves Park County, visit their Website, or call (406) 222-5335. The Livingston Food Pantry of Park County is located at 112 North M Street in Livingston.

These two Holiday photo greeting cards were among items donated to the store. The one on the left has a note on the back reading “Xmas ‘62.” Click an image to enlarge it.

The Alley Annex opened in 2008 to offer overflow items from the Community Closet Thrift Store at a discount. Everything in the Annex is just 25¢.

The Annex has the same quality merchandise you’ll find in the main store, but enables us to sell our thrift store overflow items at rock-bottom prices while keeping discards (and the garbage bill) down.

The Alley Annex is in the alley directly behind the main store. It’s open Sundays from 12 Noon until 4 PM.

When the wind reaches 25 miles per hour, hold on to your hat! Everything in the store is discounted according to whatever the wind speed is (after 25 mph). For example, a 25 mile per hour wind means 25% off, or a 30 mile per hour wind means 30% off.

And don’t forget our Early Bird Sale: every Saturday morning from 8 AM to 10 AM all merchandise is 50% off.

After the Early Bird Sale, we bring out new merchandise.

Click the image for a larger view.