A Boot Sale … I am sure you know what it is, and what it isn’t.
It's NOT a bunch of rubber gumboots on tables. In fact, lots of you may have fond memories of ‘boot sale-ing’ on a Saturday. Here in Canada, a boot sale is like a flea market.
Our Agassiz Library: Friends of the Library are revitalizing this fun, family activity right here in downtown Agassiz. It is fitting that the boot (the British term for a car trunk) sale come back to Canada, as that is its origin. Father Harry Clarke, a Catholic priest from Stockport in the United Kingdom, first introduced the car boot sale to the UK after seeing a similar event being held in Canada while on holiday there in the early 1970s. Car boot sales are now very popular there, as well as Australia.
Friends Chairperson, Maureen Wendt knows Agassiz is ready for this.
“Our booksale is downsized, but made even better with others selling their treasures or no-longer needed belongings. We hope people will fill their ‘boots’ and come and sell to their community neighbours,” she says.
The sale is for personal sales, not businesses.
With the support of the District of Kent, on Saturday, August 25 they have given the parking lot for the District Hall and Library over to what will be a day of wheeling, dealing, food, music and yes, books for sale — lots of books, so no fear.
The Friends are changing things up a little, doing it different, so while there will be book sale tables, there will be the great added feature of a parking lot filled with people wanting to sell their second had goods and treasures.
Hence, the First Annual Friends of the Agassiz Library Boot Sale! By paying a $15 registration fee, you will get yourself a spot in the parking lot to open the trunk of your car or box of your pick up truck or even just spread out your treasures and sell the to the public. Or, two spots for $25.
To add to the fun, there will be a world class lunch available for sale of BBQ pulled pork on a bun and lemonade, there will be coffee and locally homemade muffins by the Magpie bakers for sale too. Music, some shade to sit and visit …. it will be a great way to buy or sell your wares.
Be part of this great event by registering a parking spot and filling your boot. Enjoy it by coming out to buy as our summer winds down, August 25, 9 a.m. Call the library for more information at 604-796-9510.
Great reads at hand
Summer is at its peak, and it's glorious for many reasons. Lots of you come in on the hot days and exhale with pleasure at the air-conditioned atmosphere in your library, making it comfy to look for your reads. I love the heat, but I also like being able to get relief from it! Your cool library at your service.
So, our advice for summer reads? Keep it light, find things that make you smile …. enjoy a belly laugh with yourself. Some suggestions might be, “A Dirty Job” by Christopher Moore. In this novel, death comes in the form of a tall, black record store owner named Minty Fresh, who steals your wife's soul, confers upon you the job of Death Merchant, and leaves you to fend for yourselves among hellhounds, sewer harpies and an army composed mostly of reanimated squirrels.
If that doesn’t have your kind of laughability, what about “The Pleasure of My Company” by Steve Martin. This is his second hilarious novel that tells of the misadventures of a house-bound, obsessive-compulsive anti-hero.
For absurdity and chuckles combined, read ANYTHING by David Sedaris, or listen to him on audiobook. I mention Sedaris annually, just so you remember that you wanted to read his books. His most popular book is “Me Talk Pretty One Day” and goes from his early wishes to be a performance artist ("The only crimp in my plan was that I seemed to have no talent whatsoever") to becoming a "clearly unqualified" writing teacher in Chicago.
Sedaris's career moves lead him to New York and the sky's-the-limit field of furniture moving, and eventually, to France, which poses several major challenges, chief among them his inability to speak the language. His life is so incredibly funny …. in his words, of course.
And to boast a little before I close my writing for the day, your Agassiz Library is now on Facebook. I am doing my best to acquire ‘friends’ so I can keep them in the know about events at the library, books I think are noteworthy, and some pictures from the ‘days of our life’ in Agassiz Library Land, the heart of your community. Look for Terrill at Agassiz Lib and get in our loop! You can ‘like’ us …. we know you do, be our friend, you’ll be glad you did!