An annual event thousands of Vancouver Islanders have prominently highlighted on their calendars happens this weekend at the Victoria Curling Club. Gordie Tupper stopped by to give us a bit of a teaser.
Books, books and more books?Hard cover, soft cover?pretty much any category you could possibly imagine?all being methodically organized and readyed for tomorrow’s door opening of the Times Colonist Book Sale.
“This is exceptional. We easily have half a million books here.”
Dave Obee, the big guy at the T/C, is the organizer & he remembers well the early days.
“The book sale started in 1998 after we heard there was a government funding problem for school libraries. We raised 20 thousand dollars the first year but over the 20 years of doing the sale we’ve now raised 4.7 million dollars.”
And while the generosity of Victorians is a major factors, the willingness of volunteers to help out can’t be understated.
“How many volunteers are there Bob? We’ve got a pool of about 250.”
And these incredibly dedicated individuals have a lot of titles to categorize. Some pretty unique? like 3D stereoscopic photo books.
“So you flip this over onto that. Yeah, you pull that out and you can see what things will look like.
Hey look at this one, it’s a complete idiots guide to reaching your goals. I like this Dave. You know that’s a great idea and you know, I know someone who’ll probably read that book. Here it is.”
There are massive books and the top price is only 3 dollars.
“Hey wait a minute. How did this book get in here.? I have no idea who would have thrown this one off. This one is the kind of book you never get rid of, but having said that, if someone buys this book on the weekend come & see me and I’ll sigh it for you.”
It’s a bookworm’s paradise , no Kobo’s here. Just paper & ink.
Doors open tomorrow morning at 9 but believe it or not, the lineup outside the curling club starts just after midnight tonight. Dress warmly.
CHEK News
