Organizers estimated about 20,000 people were drawn Thursday to the retail binge known as the 33rd annual Downtown Lawrence Sidewalk Sale.

Unlike earlier in the week, temperatures were unseasonably moderate.

Early-morning shoppers hunt for bargains at Lawrence's 33rd annual Downtown Sidewalk Sale. The sale, which began at sunrise Thursday, drew an estimated 20,000 people.

“If this was on Monday or Tuesday, we’d be crying,” said Sabrina Prewett, a student at Lawrence Tae-Kwon-Do School who helped sell baked goods to raise money for the martial arts school.

“The weather has been great,” said Brian Hoffman, owner of The Sports Dome, 942 Mass. “We couldn’t have asked for anything better. Every year should be like this.”

Hoffman said nearly all of his Kansas University T-shirts on sale for $5 sold by 10 a.m.

“It has been a steady flow of people since 7 a.m.,” said Maria Martin, director of Downtown Lawrence Inc. and owner of Southwest and More, 727 Mass. “Usually we get a lull in the afternoon because it’s really hot, but we haven’t seen a lull.”

Unloading stuff

Randy Walker arrived at 5:30 a.m. to set up his booth outside the Antique Mall, 830 Mass. He was selling each item of merchandise for $1.

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“This is a great way for me to unload stuff I normally would not get rid of,” Walker said.

Hoffman said the sidewalk sale was an opportunity to sell merchandise that had built up in storage at The Sports Dome.

“Most merchants are in-between seasons right now,” he said. “This is a great way to sell a lot of merchandise.”

Galen Tarman, owner of Blue Heron Futons & Home Furnishings, 921 Mass., took a similar approach.

“We’re very happy about getting rid of a lot of things that have been upstairs for a while,” he said. “People always want discount furniture. They don’t seem to mind if there are nicks and cuts, as long as the price is right.”

Yearly ritual

Topeka residents Tracy Greenlee-Emery, Karla Huffman, Shannon Ensign and Jolleen Thorpe all took vacation from work to attend the sale. They arrived around 8 a.m.

1-year-old Nathan Larimore dozes off in his stroller as his mother, Melissa Larimore, and older brother Jonathan, 4, all of Warrensburg, Mo., pay for a purchase.

“We’ve planned this for a long time,” Huffman said. “We’ve been coming on and off for six years. We always come down here to get our annual Jayhawk T-shirts.”

Michael Kelling, 19, and six family members drove from Kansas City, Kan., and spent the night at the Lawrence Holidome so they could get an early start.

“It’s a good week to come to Lawrence to get some good buys,” Kelling said.

The family had hoped to beat the crowd and had been downtown since 7 a.m. seeking clothes for school, he said.

“We should have got here at 5:45 a.m., when everybody opened at sunrise,” he said.

KU Chancellor Robert Hemenway was one of the early shoppers. He was spotted carrying a bag and trying to keep up with his wife, Leah, and grandson Dylan Ruskamp.

Hemenway laughed as he corralled Dylan, 8, who had a Rice Krispie treat in one hand and a red snow cone in the other.

“I’m basically accomplishing being a contributor to the city of Lawrence’s economy, and we’re buying every spare piece of food we can see,” Hemenway said, laughing.

A bazaar

Downtown businesses weren’t the only ones that capitalized on the sale’s popularity.

Megan King takes a break from selling at the Downtown Lawrence Sidewalk Sale to look over some shoes on racks in the 800 block of Massachusetts Street. Organizers estimated about 20,000 came to the sale Thursday.

KU student Katherine McRobbie dressed as Cupid and handed out paper fans promoting a play she will act in called ‘She Stoops to Conquer,’ which opens today at KU’s Inge Theatre in Murphy Hall.

“We knew we’d find a lot of people down here,” McRobbie said. “Some people didn’t want the fans, which has been kind of surprising. All of the vendors have taken them, though, because they’re hot.”

Booster club members Chris Heider and Tanja Harrison sold Free State High School merchandise and said they had done nearly $1,000 in sales by noon.

“We’re doing really well,” Harrison said. “That was our goal: $1,000.”

Members of the Douglas County Democratic Party were registering people to vote.

Scott McKenzie, director of Douglas County Democratic Coordinated Campaign, said his group had signed up at least 30 people by 10 a.m. They started at 7 a.m.

“We ran out of forms at 8:45 a.m.,” McKenzie said. “I had to run and get some more. The sidewalk sale has been great, and we’re just getting underway in our drive to register voters.”

World online editor Dave Toplikar contributed to this report.