Book Fair project committee member Barbara Macdonald said the Zonta book fair was going well despite chilly weekend mornings. Photo / Michael Cunningham
A couple of chilly mornings didn’t stop booklovers from flocking to the annual Zonta book fair in Whangārei over the weekend which raised about $43,000.
Book Fair project committee member Barbara Macdonald said Zonta’s Great New Zealand Book Fair sale at the Badminton Centre went well on Saturday and Sunday.
That’s despite temperatures plummeting to 3.2deg C in Whangārei on Saturday morning and 5.4deg C on Sunday.
“We’re quite happy,” she said.
“I’m not sure our foot traffic has been quite what it usually is, but we had quite a good opening; the queue was from the door of the hall to the Z service station.
“We’ve had the coldest two mornings of the winter, so people haven’t come out that early.
“We’re grateful for the people who did come out and were prepared to spend money.”
Macdonald said thousands of books – from 50 cent children’s books through to treasured collectables like a $200 Pickmere Atlas - had been snapped up by the district’s avid readers. About $43,000 that was raised will be distributed among various local charities.
Any “leftovers” would be given to charities including the SPCA and some were headed to Cambridge for their week-long book sale, Macdonald said.
Macdonald thanked the event’s many supporters.
“We’re grateful that people came out in the freezing cold to restock their bookshelves.”
The event is now in its 30th year and has been gaining momentum since it was first started by the Hatea Zonta Club.
As the event has grown, the club sought help from the Whangārei Zonta club and in 2021 teamed up with Mangakahia Lions.
“Very little of the actual animal is used in the taxidermy,” Mark Walker says.