Discounts are spilling out of Ballard stores and onto the sidewalks starting today as the annual Ballard Sidewalk Sale gets underway.

The sale, which is Seattle's longest-running sidewalk sale of its kind, gives Ballard merchants more of a chance to interact with neighborhood residents, said Mary Hurley, one of the organizers of the sale.

"I think it gives our community a chance to come to downtown Ballard and get some great bargains," she said.

Caryn Truitt at Cookies on Market Street said she participates in the sale every year because it is fun and also because it allows her to clear out some of her merchandise before the big buy for the winter holidays.

Hurley said the economic recession, of which her store Best Regards was a recent victim, could help the sidewalk sale because people will make a point to come looking for bargains.

The Ballard Sidewalk Sale lasts from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Thursday through Saturday and 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Sunday. It is primarily located on Ballard Avenue and Market Street.