Thousands and thousands of books, representing every genre, were organized for browsing. People come to the annual Historic Vienna, Inc. book fair from all over the region, but, especially, from Vienna. Neighbors run into one another there. Photo by Donna Manz.
Historic Vienna, Inc.’s annual two-day mega-book sale covered all day June 9 and 10. Tents covered the rows and rows of genre-organized books, thousands and thousands of them. Under shade trees behind Freeman House, tables held a couple of dozen boxes of children’s books, from classics to contemporary, fiction to non-fiction. Within minutes of opening, a mass of children and adults swarmed the children’s area.
The experienced shoppers knew the technique: pull out anything appealing and go through what you’ve got once you’ve amassed a pile.
"It’s not only the books and the variety of books, but it’s the festive nature of it, too, that makes it fun," said Mary Ann Ondrey who has been going to the HVI book fair for about 15 years. She calls it "organized" and "orderly."
"The best thing is you can’t beat the last-day sale," Ondrey said. "I tell my friends and they meet me here. It becomes an outing."
For many parents of young children, the mega-book sale is another jewel in the Vienna activity crown.
Alison French carried her 16-month-old daughter Sarah around as the two looked at children’s books. Sarah spotted her favorite, Elmo, featured in a sing-along CD. French lives close to Church Street and they can walk down from their house. "We like to do anything that is fun for the family," French said. "We like supporting the community."
Three-year-old Lily Siddon partnered with her mom, Amanda, looking for books to take home. Lily wore her purple custom-made Kyllopalooza tee-shirt, planning on stopping by the event on the Town Green late in the day. "We just came for a fun family activity in Vienna on a beautiful day," Amanda Siddon said.
"It’s a community event," said Melissa Parham of Vienna. "We like to support the community, we belong to HVI. My husband is nuts about books. "We get rid of some every year and come back to buy more every year."