Book fair a success despite of SARS glitch

It didn’t turn out quite the way it was planned, but in the end it worked.
The annual book fair fundraiser was supposed to take place at La Verendrye Hospital as well as the Fort Frances Public Library last week, but thanks to the SARS concerns, the hospital portion slated Friday had to be cancelled.
Instead, the book fair was held at the library both Friday and Saturday.
“People didn’t know about the change, but that’s OK,” said chief librarian Margaret Sedgwick. “Things went well.”
The two-day event, when combined with last year’s fundraiser, brought in a total of $1,500, which will be split between the library and the Riverside Foundation for Health Care.
Foundation director Teresa Hazel acknowledged sales were down a bit this year, but was quite pleased with the result nonetheless.
“Definitely it was down, but with Ray [Fortier] handling the thing, it’s minimal work for us, so whatever we raise is good,” said Hazel.
“We’re certainly grateful to the library for helping us out,” she added, noting a number of hospital staff made the effort to go to the library to make purchases.
Also, bad weather and other events in town made it more difficult than it had been in some past years. “There were a lot of factors this week, so we did pretty well considering,” Hazel remarked.
Fortier, sales rep for Books are Fun Ltd. in Winnipeg, said the purpose of the fair went beyond raising money for the community. It also was a chance for people to acquire books that might not be available otherwise.
“We’re wholesalers,” he explained. “We bring a book store to the community.”
This is particularly important in places like Fort Frances that lack a comprehensive book store, he added.
Local resident Gloria Seid took advantage of the discount prices to load up on bargains. “I bought books, gifts, and birthday ideas,” she said as she filled up two plastic bags.
Fortier said Books are Fun, which is a subsidiary of Readers Digest Company, provided the books at wholesale prices, with the markup going to the library and foundation.
And despite the last-minute change of plans, things went quite well.
“We missed quite a bit of sales but that was out of our control,” he reasoned. “It didn’t affect the library sales but it did affect the hospital.
“It was just one of those things. You couldn’t see it coming and I look at it as just a blip.”
Fortier said he attributed the book fair’s success to the efforts of Sedgwick and Hazel. “I’ve got two of the best fundraisers in the business,” he claimed.
Books are Fun does a lot more than book fairs, Fortier noted.
“In the States, we do a lot of employee events, but up here, the smaller population means we stick to craft fairs, trade shoes, and libraries.”
There will be another book fair during the Fort Frances Chamber of Commerce’s annual trade show next month. Contact Sedgwick at the library for more info.