The third semiannual WMUA vinyl sale will run from 11 a.m. until 5 p.m. tomorrow at the Cape Cod Lounge. Set up like an indoor flea market, the event will host more than 15 different record vendors peddling thousands upon thousands of those warm, crackly LPs, EPs, 45s and singles that you devoted music lovers so lust after. The vendors will range from Amherst’s own Trade Roots (and other local favorites) to traveling merchants from exotic reaches as far as New Jersey. Even the radio station will be hawking its wares.

If that’s not enough music for you, the event will also feature WMUA’s own DJs spinning live music throughout the day. This is a change from the first such event put on by WMUA, which included live band performances. The station’s program director, David Murray, who started the vinyl sale last year, said that this was a logical choice in promoting the WMUA community at the event.

Yoni Glaser, who organized Saturday’s event, also stressed the sense of community fostered by the vinyl sale. “It attracts people who are deep into music,” he said, and this sale is a rare opportunity for a real life gathering of that crowd. Sure, you can endlessly pontificate about the merits of “Wowee Zowie” in the niche-catering universe of the internet, but where else can you physically mingle with multitudes of music maniacs? Well, this is a lot cheaper than the Pitchfork Festival and you don’t need a tent.

Glaser went on to admit that he himself isn’t a huge music buff, so this is more than just a nice community event with a bunch of great deals for him – it’s an “educational experience.” But you don’t have to live under a harpsichord to benefit from the ridiculous diversity in store for this event. There is an implicit guarantee in the sheer volume of recorded music and human knowledge present at Saturday’s proceedings that you will learn something about music. Something worthwhile even.

Or, thanks to the looseness of the flea market atmosphere, you could (depending on the disgression and demeanor of the vendor) learn to competently haggle. It is a regrettably underdeveloped skill among Americans, so this could prove a valuable lesson. If you aren’t one for confrontational economics, you could always learn to bargain-lurk (though, as a college student, you ought to be at least reasonably skilled at this already). With such an eclectic and abundant array of vinyl records, this sale will provide a challenge for even the most advanced garage sale creeper. So put on your frugal hat, UMass – and get perusing.

This season’s vinyl sale promises to continue the progressive expansion of the event since its inception. They continue to attract more vendors from a wider range of locales, and, most importantly, student interest continues to build. If the event’s success persists, it will likely expand and move to a larger venue in the coming years. But Saturday’s sale will be at the Cape Cod Lounge in the Student Union.

Garth Brody can be reached at [email protected].