Elora Festival Giant Book Sale seeking donations, volunteers
FERGUS/ELORA – The Elora Festival Giant Book Sale isn’t until May, but organizers of this annual event are still accepting donations of books, games, puzzles and music.
They are also seeking volunteers to help with set up, clean up and during the sale.
Every Monday morning, the volunteer team is hard at work organizing donated books into categories, pulling out any worn items for recycling, pricing the merchandise and then boxing everything up for transport to the Elora Curling Club in time for the sale in May.
Volunteers work in the basement of 380 St. Andrew St. W. in Fergus.
Anyone with books to donate can drop them off at the blue book depot shed located outside, near Maiden Lane towards the river.
“We accept all books that are in good condition, from gourmet cookbooks to children’s picture books, and all formats, including paperbacks and coffee table books,” organizers say.
They also accept CDs, LPs, sheet music, board games and puzzles.
“We do not accept textbooks, encyclopedias, or magazines. Items that aren’t in good enough condition for sale are recycled or discarded,” they add.
The book depot cupboard is open 24/7 for most of the year, save a few weeks in April while the volunteers prepare for the sale and for a few weeks after the sale in May when the book cupboard is locked so that volunteers can take a break.
Those who live in the area and have a large volume of items to donate should contact the festival office and pickup may be arranged.
Organizers are looking for more volunteers.
“We especially could use able bodied volunteers with sturdy backs who can help loading the boxes of books from the depot into the trucks and then unloading them at the Elora Curling Club,” they say.
They do have a conveyor belt at the sorting facility and rollers at the curling club, so it’s not all lifting.
Volunteers are needed April 30 for set up, and the sale runs May 1 to 3.
Email the Elora Festival and Singers office at info@elorasingers.com, or call 519-846-0331. Information can also be found at elorafestival.ca/booksale. The sale runs May 1 to 3.
This year, Friday’s hours have been extended, running from 1 to 9 pm. As in the past, there is a $5 admission fee on Friday only. Admission is otherwise free. Saturday hours are 9am to 5pm, and on Sunday hours are 9am to 4pm.
Pay by cash, debit or credit card. If you do use a card, a three per cent fee will be added to offset the bank charges.
The Elora Festival will run July 10 to 26. For more information about the program, visit elorafestival.ca.
