The Rotary Club of Mount Gambier Book Fair is back again on Saturday and Sunday October 8 and 9 after a break due to COVID-19 restrictions.

Since the event was first held in 2014, tens of thousands of dollars have been raised for local community charities and Rotary projects.

Right now, Rotarians are busy on weekends in their Hastings-Cunningham Reserve premises, sorting through the many thousands of donated books.

Sadly, many that are shabby or out of date do get thrown out, but that means those that are left are top quality editions.

Buyers are surprised to find these quality books sell for only a dollar or two, so the book fair offers a great chance for the whole family to stock up on many hours’ worth of reading at very little cost.

Kid’s books are even cheaper – in fact they are free!

The goal is to ensure every child coming to the book fair walks away with an armload of enthralling reading to encourage them to get “hooked on books”, rather than screen-based entertainment. Even for adults there are some “freebies” available.

Money raised from Rotary Club book fairs in the past has been used to fund many worthwhile causes including drought relief, many local charities and the “Books in Homes” initiative which donates new books to young primary school students.

The Rotary Club is still eager to receive good quality books as donations.

Anyone interested can contact Rotarians Alan on 0435 356 674, John on 0419 188 717 or Trevor on 0417 859 435, who can arrange pick-up from your premises.

The Rotary Club is also looking for new sponsors to help fund the Book Fair.

Contact Ian on 0402 872 466 to be associated with Rotary Club of Mount Gambier events.