by Rachel Everett-Fry, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
From August 20 to 22, the Kemptville Youth Centre (KYC) hosted their annual Book Fair. With books being sold at $2 per book, this beloved event provides many North Grenville residents with a year’s supply of reading. The Fair is also the single largest fundraising event for the KYC.
Volunteers have been collecting and sorting books since the beginning of July. President of the KYC board, Bruce Wehlau, said that there were less donations than usual this year, but this has allowed volunteers the time to beautifully organize the books. He explained, “last year, because of the sheer volume of books, we just split them up into Fiction, Reference, Gardening, Cooking, and so on. But, this year, we had the time to further subcategorize each section.”
In 2020, public attendance at the KYC Book Fair was estimated at around 2,500 visitors, raising over $15,000. This was a record breaking year for the KYC. Bruce said that, if the line up of about 40 people at opening time on Friday is any indication, this year will rival last.
The Book Fair this year also featured a writing contest for youth, with cash prizes for each age group.
