Book fans bag a bargain at fair
Hundreds of eager book buyers flooded into the Te Aroha Catholic Hall for the annual Te Aroha Mountain Lions Book Fair which was held recently.
The amount of people lined up waiting to bag a book bargain was heartening for members who had once again worked tirelessly to bring the book fair together.
‘‘We couldn’t believe the amount of people waiting to come in, when we opened the doors on the first day,’’ said the coordinators, Philippa Davey and Catherine Cossar.
People continued to pour into the Catholic hall over the two-day book fair from November 3-4 and many went away happily carrying their boxes full of great book bargains.
‘‘Having the user friendly EFTPOS machine made a big difference to sales,’’ commented Te Aroha Mountain Lions Club president Margaret Martin.
Members had been sorting and making sure books donated were in good condition since the beginning of the year, which meant punters really had a bargain..
There was also a good range of puzzles, CDs, DVDs and records along with some excellent coffee table books and collectibles.
The annual book fair is one of the Mountain Lions Club’s main fundraising ventures and local residents and out of town people alike have become accustomed to a well organised event.
Over $9000 was raised this year.
Once expenses have been accounted for, the profits will be shared equally between this year’s four deserving recipients - Te Aroha Community Patrol, Future Te Aroha, Manawaru Playcentre and Te Aroha Youth Employment Services.
However, the members of this busy Lions club are not sitting on their laurels as they will be opening their Pop-Up Book Shop at the Old Post Office opposite the motel, every Friday and Saturday at 10am - 2pm from November 17 until Christmas and then again in the New Year.
Profits from the Pop-Up shop go towards helping other local organisations or individuals who are in need of a helping hand during the year. It also enables members to continue to live by the Lions motto of ‘We Serve’’ by continuing to serve their community with pride.
President Margaret Martin thanked her team of hardworking members, family and friends who helped make this year’s Book Fair such a success.