A white elephant sale is a sort of glorified yard sale, usually involving collections from lots of different people. Often it's a fundraiser for a nonprofit organization, and you can expect the contents to be of a somewhat better quality than the average flea market. And also extremely ecelectic...carillions, Indonesian language-training tapes, Japanese dolls, antique buttons, you name it. Somewhat of a social event for the organizers and many of the shoppers, they can be large (the Oakland Museum sale occupies a 2 acre warehouse) and last for two or three weeks. Fun!