A two-day event coinciding with a music festival and a marine market this weekend will rake in the bucks for antiques — and for victims of domestic violence.

Ruth’s House, Washington’s new domestic violence shelter serving Beaufort County, will hold an antiques and collectibles sale Friday from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. and Saturday from 9 a.m. until 6 p.m. Money raised through the sale will benefit the shelter, which relies on private donations for its operation.

Ruth’s House board member Dot Moate arrived at the idea for the sale as a way for the community to participate in the fundraiser and thought having the event on the Friday and Saturday of a weekend already hosting the Beaufort County Arts Council’s BOCO Music Festival and Washington Harbor District Alliance’s Marine Market would draw a larger crowd. So far, crowd response has been good.

“Almost every day I’ve been here, someone has stopped in to ask if they can drop something off. We’ve just had a fantastic response from the community, so I hope they come and buy,” Moate said.

In the lead up to the sale, that support has come in a variety of ways: the donation of the use of a West Main Street storefront; antiques and collectibles being dropped off daily; the painted store window by volunteer Linda Evans that advertises the event inside. Local vendors, largely individuals, have also stepped in to purchase space within the building to sell their wares.

Already the store is filling up and will continue to do so until Friday — with antique rugs and armchairs, brassware, crystal, quilts and linens, art, chandeliers and much more. Moate pointed out a doll’s bed that one elderly woman dropped off, complete with a miniature handmade quilt and doll-baby clothes and a story of how her father made the bed for her when she was a child.

One antiques sale vendor will do onsite crystal repair, according to Moate. A teacher by trade, New Bern resident Ed Campbell does crystal restoration on the side. Moate said Campbell can make small repairs, like chips, while a customer waits, but larger repairs require a two- to three-day turnaround.

In addition to manning the sale itself, volunteers will serve up homemade chicken salad sandwiches, chips and a bottled water for $5, while desserts will be sold separately. Raffle tickets for quilts donated by local quilters’ guilds will be sold as well: $3 buys one chance; $10 buys five.

“It’s very reasonable because it’s all been donated. Everything has been donated,” Moate said. “We’re just lucky and thankful — even the building has been donated.”

While Moate said the Ruth’s House board jumped on the opportunity, with more time to prepare, she envisions an event in which neighboring businesses participate.

“I think it’d be great to have it all over downtown,” Moate said. “I think the town of Washington should have its own antique show.”

Ruth’s House Antiques and Collectibles Show is located at 140 West Main Street in Washington. For more information, email ruthshouseinfo@gmail.com or call 252-975-6309; 252-946-3799.