Coming Up | Celebrating 70 Years of Library Fair

||| FROM INGRID MATTSON for ORCAS LIBRARY FAIR |||

This year marks the 70th anniversary of the Library Fair & Book Sale! Friends of Orcas Island Library (FOIL) work diligently all year to accept, sort, and box thousands of donated books dropped off by islanders over the year.

If you love collectible art books, cookbooks, puzzles, history, and everything in between at true bargain pricing, plan to stop by the Library Saturday, August 8 from 10am-3pm. Books are generally $1 to $3 each, and many are hardbacks in virtually new condition. Stock up for grandkids, holiday gifts, self-care and more, and know every dollar spent supports your local library.

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED
Library Fair is a labor of love. Volunteers pour their time into helping set up tables, unload hundreds of boxes of books, serve as cashiers, straighten tables and merchandise, answer questions, play music, clean up, and more.

It’s easy to love your library in the abstract, but committing to show up at 8am on a Saturday to unload boxes of books says “I LOVE MY LIBRARY” in all caps…and also I LOVE GETTING AN EARLY PEEK AT BOOKS I CAN’T LIVE WITHOUT. Why not sign up at the front desk of the library so you too can get a jump on bargain hunting? Coffee, breakfast, lunch, and popsicles are available, as are a variety of shifts for all levels of ability and experience.

EARLY ENTRY AVAILABLE
For a small fee, you can be a member of the Friends of Orcas Island Library and get in early to bargain hunt at Library Fair. Membership is good for one year, so if you haven’t renewed in a while, take the time to do so now so you get first dibs at the book sale. For just $15 for an individual ($30 for a family), you get early entry, voting rights at the annual meeting, a FOIL logo sticker, and $5 to spend at the FOIL lobby store in the Library!

What does FOIL get from your membership? A sustainable way to cover basic operating expenses for the nonprofit and the ability to ensure every dollar earned via sales goes to support the Library.

LIBRARY FAIR QUILT RAFFLE IS BACK
You can buy raffle tickets at the library circulation desk for a chance to win a beautiful ombré quilt, transitioning from a rich dark purple to blues and then a vibrant green! To see the quilt in person, stop by the Library’s magazine section and look up where it’s currently displayed.