Thanksgiving weekend was the perfect time to launch the 200th little free library box in CRD.
Teale Phelps Bondaroff, GVPN board member, Tom and Jean Newton cut the ribbon on the 200th LFL in the region!
Tom and Jean Newton, who refurbished a rusty Times Colonist box to create a shiny red book box, expressed thanks to over 40 neighbours who showed up on the sunny Saturday afternoon for the ribbon cutting, on Shorncliffe Dr.
A huge group of neighbours gathered at the ribbon cutting on Shorncliffe Dr.
People of all ages turned out. Some neighbours who had never met but who always waved to each other when they drove along the street, exchanged names for the first time. They talked about reading preferences, about how long they’d lived in the neighbourhood, how to keep deer from eating their gardens and, because it’s election time, some even talked politics. Mystery lovers talked to biography lovers who talked to people looking for books they heard about on Canada Reads.
Books! Little free libraries create community connection places and help share books.
Thanks to book donations from all the neighbours, there was a good supply of adult fiction, mysteries, children’s picture books, teen fiction, cookbooks, and gardening books. To give people a reason to hang around a while longer, the Newtons served homemade cookies, popcorn and cider. Everyone went home not only with a book but with a good feeling about the great neighbourhood they live in.
One person suggested that a neighbourhood party be held on the same date next year to celebrate the book box’s first birthday. Another wondered if the book box might lead neighbours to consider forming a book group. “This is the exact result we hoped for,” said Tom. “People came together and had a good time.”
The Newtons want to thank Teale Phelps Bondaroff from the Greater Victoria Placemakers for assisting in the launch of their Little Neighbourhood Library.
Jean and Tom Newton installed the 200th little free library in the CRD in front of their home on Shorncliffe Rd. You can find a map of all 200+ little free libraries in the CRD Here. The GVPN does still have a number of old newspaper boxes available, please get in touch if you would like one to upcycle into a little free library for your community.
