Elora Festival reaps benefits of volunteers, who organize festival’s annual book sale

ELORA – It takes an army of volunteers to prepare for the annual Elora Festival Book Sale, which this year runs May 2, 3 and 4 at the Elora Curling Club.

Only a fraction of the army was working in their sorting space in the basement of a property on Maiden Lane in Fergus on April 7.

But it was still a hive of activity as books were taken from the book closet outside, brought to the basement on a conveyor belt, and sorted at tables spread throughout the basement.

About 20 or 30 volunteers work year-round collecting, sifting and sorting donations, except during May, when the book closet outside is locked and the volunteers take a break.

As well as these volunteers, the book sale makes use of another 50 or 60 people to help set up, take down, and man the cash boxes at the Elora Curling Club during the sale.

The book sale runs:

• May 2, 5 to 9pm, $5 admission;
• May 3, 9:30am to 5pm, free admission; and
• May 4, 9:30am to 4pm, free admission.

On offer will be some 60,000 adult and children’s books, games, DVDs, CDs and records.

Parking is free; cash, debit and credit are accepted.

Karen Eddie and Judy Bates are co-chairs of the book sale and while they are grateful for the donations, they’d also like folks to take a moment and edit out the magazines, textbooks and other books that are mouldy, dirty and in really poor condition.

The book sale is a fundraiser for the Elora Festival and typically it raises $70,000.

So it’s a shame when some of the proceeds are spent taking material that just can’t be sold to the dump, the co-chairs said.

“We spend hundreds of dollars a year at the dump,” Eddie said, adding they have to rip covers off books as the pages can be recycled but the covers cannot.

They don’t accept magazines or textbooks, “and old ratty cookbooks from the 1970s – nobody wants them either,” she added.

“Books with mould are also garbage,” Bates said. “If it’s been in the barn for 10 years, it’s probably garbage.”

Although the book cupboard is emptied every day, some people still leave books out in the weather. Those donations often end up at the dump as well.

“Please don’t leave books outside,” Bates urged.

“And if you have large donations, call the festival office. We can arrange to be here,” Eddie said, adding they can often pick up large donations as well.

Any books that don’t sell by the end of the weekend will go to FUNDrive, an organization that pays charitable organizations for gently used items, including books.

“They pay 10 cents a pound,” Eddie explained, adding FUNDrive brings its own plastic crates to cart away the leftovers, so the festival doesn’t need to pack them away in boxes that cost $1 each. “This is a great thing.”

“It saves us a bundle,” Bates added.

That said, the book sale does accept board games, puzzles, CDs and DVD.

Eddie observed a significant uptick in puzzles since the pandemic.

Anyone interested in volunteering or with a large donation to coordinate is asked to contact the Elora Festival at info@elorafestival.ca or 519-846-0331.

The Elora Festival itself runs July 11 to 27 over several venues in Elora. For more information about the festival, the program or to order tickets, visit elorafestival.ca.