Celebrating 20 book fair years
Books of every genre have turned the Te Rapa Racecourse into a heaven for avid readers.
But even those who enjoy casually flicking through nonfiction, general knowledge or picture books are being catered for at the Red Cross annual Book Fair.
More than 30,000 books sit in ordered rows in an upstairs function room.
It has taken almost every Monday of the year to get to this stage, and now the Red Cross helping hands are ready to open the doors on Friday.
The fair is one of the oldest in Hamilton, and this year marks its 20th anniversary.
From humble beginnings, the first year brought in around $6000, which the volunteers thought was quite an achievement.
Last year, they raised $52,000 and Jenny Beckett has watched it gather momentum.
Her sister Philippa Robertson joined a year later, and both have never looked back.
The most they have raised was about six years ago, Beckett said, when the total reached $68,000.
Touring through the room you can see books of every genre, specialist books, DIY and craft handbooks, children’s books and history books, some as old as the 1880s.
The popularity of genres each year varies, the sisters said, but war or New Zealand books seem to be the frontrunners. The book fair will run until Sunday, and when Monday comes, the volunteers will sort through the books that didn’t sell, to start it all again for next year.