The Kilmore Historical Society will host a two-day book fair this weekend at its new home – the Old Kilmore Post Office.
One month after it relocated, the society now has the space to store and sell the thousands of secondhand books the committee members started collecting early last year.
Secretary Rose King said they had wanted to host a book fair for a long time, and were thrilled they finally could.
“We’ve thought about it in the past but just didn’t have the storage space, but now we do, so we’re hoping this will, be the first of many annual book fairs,” she said.
From 10am to 3pm on Saturday and Sunday, thousands of books (except textbooks) in all genres and sizes will be available to browse.
Prices start at 50 cents and have been kept low due to the sheer volume of stock.
Committee members, supported by an extra eight volunteers, will help set up and sell the books, and the money will be a fundraiser for the society.
“Now that we’re in our own building our expenses are a lot higher,” Ms King explained.
Ms King first had the idea for the fair when one member gifted them a special collection, which Ms King stored in her garage through last year’s lockdown.
Since then the society collected books from ‘hundreds and hundreds’ of people across Mitchell Shire and beyond, after posting a callout for donations on social media.
Ms King said she was looking forward to welcoming the community into its new space.
“Having a shopfront and having a corner location we get people popping in all the time, which is a different experience from [the courthouse location], so we feel that our location is giving us a real presence in the community,” she said. The book fair will be a COVID-safe event at 2 Powlett Street, Kilmore.
