Thousands of book lovers hunted for literary treasures during the Brantford Symphony Orchestra’s (BSO) annual book fair fundraiser, which ran from Wednesday, April 22, to Saturday, April 25, 2026.
Joann Alho, who co-chairs the book fair committee alongside Penny MacKenzie, said there were several hundred people eagerly lined up outside of Laurier University’s One Market on opening day.
“The turnout this year has been amazing. On the very first day, we had over 400 people come through in the first ten minutes. It was absolutely wild,” said Alho with a chuckle. “I think next year we may just need to have a badge to acknowledge all of those who were willing to come within the first three hours, because they deserve a medal. People were coming in specifically looking for something, they’d hurry over to that section to get it, they’d check out and go hide it in their car and then come back in to have another look around. The dedication is just wonderful.”
While many shoppers were local, others traveled from out of town to attend the sale, including book dealers, said Alho.
“It’s interesting because this year we had quite a few book dealers come through as well,” she said. “We had dealers come from Delhi, from Vaughan and even from Parry Sound. Not only that, but I’ve interacted with four people who sell books online, and there was one gentleman from Toronto who goes to all book fairs who said that this is the only one that’s worth coming back for the second day.”
During the sale, book lovers moved from section to section, scouring a nearly endless selection of hidden gems.
Many in attendance arrived ready to expand their collections, and with thousands of books, crafts, CDs, DVDs, vinyl records, puzzles and countless treasures to search through, many shoppers left with their hands, bags and boxes overflowing.
First time sale-goers, Andrea Tullo and Liam Duncan, said they didn’t know what to expect from the book fair, but that they were certainly impressed.
“It’s a lot bigger than we were expecting, it’s two large rooms full of books and it’s just fantastic,” said Tullo. “Also, because it’s the last day, we were kind of coming in and not really expecting to find much, but there’s still just a ton of stuff and I even have a little tower going on here.”
When asked what was so special about books and reading to them, Duncan said that books offer different kinds of experience compared to other forms of media.
“I think reading is a way of experiencing a story that no other kind of medium can quite match,” he said. “I find that no video medium can really put you in the mind of a character the way that reading can.”
“Especially since TV is so passive; you’re just sitting there watching the screen,” added Tullo. “With books, you’re more immersed and you’re exploring the world through the characters instead of just watching it all happen. You’re really engaging your brain and your imagination, and there’s something about reading stories that inspires you to create your own.”
Both agreed that the benefit of a second-hand book sale like the BSO’s, was the ability to find things you may not normally pick up in a big box store.
“Sometimes you go to a big book store and you see the same ten fantasy romances, but here, you get to find all sorts of hidden gems and you kind of feel like a little treasure hunter,” said Tullo with a laugh.”
Teryn Clapp, who travelled to Brantford from Port Dover, said it was also her first time attending the sale.
“It’s so great.” she said. “There’s so many more books than I ever could have imagined. It may be the last day, but I still managed to collect a little stack which is great.”
Clapp went on to say that she was happy to not only get to feed her love of reading, but to help contribute to the arts at the same time.
“I love to read. I read a lot of fiction and I love getting to escape reality and being in another world,” she said. “So to be able to buy books and do something l love while supporting something else that other people love, is the best part about this sale.”
The book fair, which is known as the largest second-hand book sale in Ontario, has been running since 1964 and serves as the largest contributor of funds for the BSO. The money raised from the four-day event will help contribute to the symphony’s yearly concert lineup at the Sanderson Centre.
Alho said that while they had yet to tally up the final numbers, she was sure they had surpassed last year’s total of $60,000.
“I believe we’ve raised more than we did last year, but now that it’s the last day we’ll send the figures out and our office administrator will do the final tally and let us know,” she said.
The co-chair added that the book fair wouldn’t have been possible without the dedicated customers, the volunteers and Wilfrid Laurier University.
“We have such a wonderful team of volunteers, I really can not say enough good things about them. Not only have they helped to sort, price and organize everything, but they’ve also contributed by bringing a number of new customers in too,” she said. “The community has also been amazing, and so has the university as a whole. I’m not sure how many people know this, but there are more students here studying education than on the main campus, and it was so wonderful to see all these future teachers coming in. They were getting everything from children’s books to psychology, science books, and all of the dictionaries that they needed.”
“It really is so lovely being in a place where reading is valued, and to interact with other book people,” continued Alho. “There’s something special about watching children find their favourite treasures and watching people find the things that they’ve been looking for forever.”
Kimberly De Jong’s reporting is funded by the Canadian government through its Local Journalism Initiative.The funding allows her to report rural and agricultural stories from Blandford-Blenheim and Brant County. Reach her at kimberly.dejong@brantbeacon.ca.
