Station’s Big Book Bash shelved for 2024

The Big Book Bash, a favourite tradition in Creemore for the past 20 years, will not be happening this fall. Organizer Marg Purkis says renovations being done at the curling rink located within the Creemore Community Centre and Arena means the space will not be available for drop off and sorting of donations.

The biannual sale is a fundraiser to pay for improvements at the Station on the Green. Purkis says a core group of 15 to 17 volunteers have typically worked in the space leased by the Creemore Curling Club prior to the sale date.

Members of The Creemore Curling Club have expressed regrets that they are not able to provide the usual support because of the municipally-planned construction.

“We work five days a week, two hours a day sorting all the books that get donated. We eliminate any books which are soiled or smell like smoke or may be infested with pests.”

“We don’t take self-help books, business books, or encyclopedias. It is because we have such a very high standard that there’s always a line up on sale day.”

Purkis says the Curling Club was an ideal space to prep for the sale. It had plenty of room and it was offered to organizers at no charge. She says there is no other space in Creemore that makes sense.

The first sale was the brainchild of Pat and Chris Raible, the original owners of Curiosity House Books. Purkis has been in charge of the last six or seven Book Bashes. “I enjoy it. I enjoy the people who help. But I’m getting tired. Hopefully someone else will come along to take it over for next year.”

Purkis says in a typical year, the sale raises more than $6,000. The selection features fiction, history, biographies and plenty of gardening and cook books. In the first sale post- pandemic, they also handled hundreds of jigsaw puzzles. Unsold items were sent to a second-hand book store in Collingwood.

Anyone interested in running the Book Bash next year is invited to call Purkis at 705-351-2681.