Four, three, two, one. No other numbers make hearts jump and pulses race at the Hansville Community Center in early August quite like them. And with good reason, too.

This weekend marks the 25th annual Hansville Rummage Sale and those who have never witnessed shopping chaos at its finest, the Herald strongly suggests they point their cars north and join in the bargain hunt.

This event is the best of its kind in North Kitsap. Often imitated, never topped.

It’s pretty safe to say that volunteer organizers, who have been gathering items for the past year, know what the public wants and how to best organize everything from clothes and furniture to toys, art and sporting goods in the sanest possible fashion. Even so, the countdown to opening is almost a Darwinian exercise.

Those showing up the earliest or having the quickest feet typically get the best deals when “one” is yelled and the rope drops. The ensuing bargain hunter stampede is a glorious sight.

But even more glorious are the benefits reaped from the premiere rummage sale of the year. Money raised goes right back into the community center and toward scholarships for local students. Now that’s truly a great deal.