Feeding the minds of South Canterbury

Again this year, scores of people lined up outside the Trinity Church Hall in Timaru, eager to search for bargains among thousands of books on display. Hundreds more, including professional book dealers, continued the hunt over the weekend of 19-20 November 2016.

BOOKARAMA, while being an annual fundraiser for the Timaru North Rotary Club, is also a community service allowing locals to access to cheap books. Organiser Murray Purvis said wider aisles were again used to allow easier browsing and, this time, popular sections were more evenly spread to reduce congestion.

Books, games, puzzles, records CDs, DVDs and cassette tapes were collected at various service stations over past weeks. These and other stored from previous years, were collected and sorted by club members and other volunteers. In the days prior, they laid out the sales tables, tidying and restocking them during the sale.

More than $15,000 will have been raised and be given to several charities. Along with the Rotary Club of Timaru South, BOOKARAMA has been run for about 40 years.