Book fair bonanza

THE Rotary Club of Geelong West has raised more than $29,000 for local projects in need of support at its annual Book Fair.

The three-day fundraiser was held at the Geelong West Hall and was attended by thousands of booklovers.

Attendees snapped up books of all kinds, including biographies, fiction, non-fiction, sport and romance titles.

Book Fair co-ordinator Michael Clyne said the weekend’s edition was one of the most successful yet.

“We were very happy with how it went. It was probably in the top three results we’ve had in the event’s history. The Saturday was our best one ever.

“We moved lots of books, and a few thousand people came through.

“The [half-priced books] Valentines Day promotion was well received and brought a bit of a laugh.”

Mr Clyne said all funds would now be split between a series of local projects.

“We’ve got an ongoing partnership to provide the Barwon Health North Dental facility with funds, and we’ve got an overall commitment of $100,000. We’ve already given them $50,000.

“We always support Geelong Youth Engagement with their Kokoda track walk, and some of it will go to BlazeAid to help with the work they are doing out there in the Grampians.

“We will also look at other projects to support closer to the end of the financial year.”

The next book fair will be held in August and commemorate 20 years of the popular community fundraiser.