Barb’s Used Book & Music Sale has been a beloved pillar for the people of Kamloops for 27 years, supporting the Kamloops Symphony Orchestra and KSO Music School while spreading the joy of music and reading to generations of audiences and book lovers. Tragically, the recent fire at St. Andrew’s on the Square devastated our inventory and infrastructure. We are inviting the community to join us in revitalizing Barb’s Used Book & Music Sale and help to “Turn The Page” and write a new chapter for this cherished event. We are looking for financial contributions, donations of books and music for the next sale to replenish our inventory, donations of furniture—specifically tables for displaying music, chairs for volunteers and book loves, shelving units, and storage totes—and volunteers to assist with the sale. Supporters will be able to write their name in the our special “Turn The Page” book, a testament to the collective effort of our community.

Despite the fire at St. Andrew’s on the Square, we are delighted to announce that our perennially popular semi-annual fundraiser will be able to return for the fall sale this year. This edition of the sale will be moving into the Pavilion Theatre, located at 1025 Lorne Street, as St. Andrew’s is still undergoing repairs and restoration. The fall 2024 edition of the sale will be taking place in the Pavilion Theatre with the following dates and times:

• Saturday, October 5: 10 am to 5 pm
• Sunday, October 6: noon to 4 pm
• Monday, October 7: CLOSED
• Tuesday-Friday, October 8-11: noon to 5 pm
• Saturday, October 12: 10 am to 5 pm
• Sunday & Monday, October 13 & 14: CLOSED
• Tuesday-Friday, October 15-18: noon to 5 pm
• Saturday, October 19: 10 am to 5 pm
• Sunday, October 20: noon to 4 pm
• Monday, October 21: CLOSED
• Tuesday-Friday, October 22-25: noon to 5 pm
• Saturday, October 26: 10 am to 5 pm

Due to water damage sustained during the fire at St. Andrew’s, we are in a rebuilding phase with our inventory. In September, we will be asking for donations to be dropped off at the Pavilion Theatre between 8:00 am and 1:00 pm on the following dates:

• Tuesday-Thursday, September 3-5
• Saturday-Monday, September 7-9
• Saturday-Monday, September 14-16

We are extremely grateful for all the generous donations but ask that donors keep in mind the life of a book and general interest. With so much now available online we have found that many of the books do not move through the sale anymore and end up going to recycling or landfill. Donors are reminded of the City of Kamloops’ book recycling program and are encouraged to look at the locations of the bins as this program continues to evolve, as it will help us and our amazing volunteers immensely. We will not be accepting the following items:

• Magazines
• Reader's Digest
• Textbooks
• Dictionaries
• Encyclopedias
• VHS and Cassette tapes

A new addition to the list is DVDs. We have “regifted” all the DVDs that survived the St. Andrew’s fire to the Kamloops Film Society to add to their inventory for sale and rental.

We have compiled a list of the most common purchases during the sale to aid with donation items:

• Recent (2019 and up) mystery and general novels
• Kids and teen books
• Local/BC/Canadian History
• Non-Fiction, including all general interest recent prints of sports, gardening, cookbooks, biographies, travel, and self-help
• Puzzles and games
• Vintage books in good quality
• Music instruction books for all instruments
• Vinyl records, especially the ones you listened to in your post-secondary days that filled the study halls

Once the sale has completed, the books will go back into storage with the hope that the sale can return to St. Andrew’s on the Square when the restoration is complete. We want to acknowledge the incredible support we receive, and the incredible impact of all those who generously donate to, shop at, and share the love of Barb’s Used Book & Music Sale. Nothing can truly replace that book in hand, sheet music on the stand, or that record playing in the background.

All money raised by the sale goes towards the Kamloops Symphony Society’s operating expenses, which include everything from concert productions to educational programs. Information about the sale can be found here, or by calling the KSO office at 250-372-5000.