Summer is just around the corner, so the time to stock up on books for summer reading is now, says Maggie Schulz.
Fortuitously, this is also the time the local SPCA is gearing up for their annual book sale and flea market.
This year, Schulz said, the SPCA has a bumper crop of titles, with as many as 5,000 books on offer over the course of the three-day event.
“We have a record number of books, with a huge number of mysteries, cookbooks and lots of other summer reading,” she said. “This is one of the bigger fundraisers for the SPCA.”
The event is slated to kick off at the Parksville Curling Club on Friday, April 29, from 9 a.m. to
6 p.m. and continues Saturday, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and wraps up Sunday, May 1 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Prices range from a low of three for $1 to as much as one book for $3.
However, those low prices don’t indicate low quality. Far from it, said co-organizer Joyce Parmar.
“There are no mouse droppings, cobwebs or smelly books,” she said. “If it’s yellow, it goes straight into the trash.”
In fact, she added, there are likely some exciting finds mixed in.
“Last year we had a magnificent 100-year-old book with colour plates that a fellow paid $25 for,” she said. “It was likely worth a great deal of money.”
The venue, Schulz said, will be split along the middle, with the second half dedicated to the flea market and filled to bursting with household items such as small furniture, a wide variety of pet supplies, dishes, glasses and ornaments.
Donations for either event can still be dropped off at the SPCA shelter, located at 1565 Alberni Highway, or even during the event itself.
For more information, call 250-248-3811.
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