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Make Volunteering for 2025 Books & Bling Your Thing!
Looking for volunteers to support one of Salt Spring’s most popular fundraising events!
Great way to interact and get to know members of the community!
Books & Bling 2025
The 2025 Books & Bling Sale is taking place on November 7 – 9, 2025 at the Farmers’ Institute from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. (10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday)
More than 20,000 gently used books across more than 30 different genres, as well as a large display of new and gently used designer, vintage, and costume jewelry – for all ages – are for sale.
All proceeds from the sale go to the Salt Spring Literacy Society, which provides literacy support to children, youth, adults and seniors. To join our amazing community of volunteers, please email bbsl@saltspringliteracy.org
Hope to see you at the Preview Party and at the sale!
Drop off Book & Jewelry Donation Days
May 31, 2025 & August 30, 2025: 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. – Salt Spring Island Multi Space
October 31 to November 2, 2025: 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. – Farmers Institute
Jewelry donations can be dropped off in the large blue box at Island Savings Credit Union during regular banking hours as well as at SeaFirst Insurance from Monday to Thursday 8:30am to 4:30pm. Jewelry donations can also be dropped off at the Salt Spring Island Literacy Office, located in the Salt Spring Island Multi Space, from Tuesday through Friday from 12pm to 4pm.
We are delighted by donations of all kinds of jewelry for both youth and adults – rings, earrings, necklaces, bracelets and more – vintage, collectable, designer and costume.
Members Preview Night
The Salt Spring Literacy Society Members Preview Night is taking place on Thursday, November 6 at the Farmers’ Institute from 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
Members who attend this special preview party – sponsored by Country Grocer – will enjoy delicious canapés created by Chef Mark Kilner and his students from the GISS Culinary Program as well as a glass of wine and other non-alcoholic refreshments. Attendees will also get an opportunity to see what’s for sale before the event is open to the public.
Attendees are welcome to purchase four fiction/non-fiction books, as well as four books from the children’s section and four from our Specials books.
Attendees can also purchase two pieces of adult jewelry – including one piece from our special Black Velvet table – and two pieces from our Children’s and Youth jewelry display.
This Preview Night event is open to all members of the Salt Spring Literacy Society. If you want to attend but you’re not a member of Salt Spring Literacy Society or your membership has expired, you can sign up at the event or you can become a member here.
You’ll be supporting a great organization that provides literacy support for children, youth, adults and seniors!
Hope to see you at the Preview Party and at the sale!
Sign Up to Get Exciting Books & Bling Updates
Pre-Event Activities, Sale Day Highlights and a Chance to Win One of a Multitude of Prizes we’re Offering in a Monthly Draw!
Volunteer
We are looking for volunteers to assist with a wide variety of activities including receiving donations, sorting and
categorizing donated gently used books, floor assistants, greeters & more!
Please email our volunteer coordinator for more information.
Books accepted
- Fiction and Literature (all formats – hardcover, trade paperback, mass market paperback)
- Arts, Crafts, and Hobbies (including poetry, drama, music, entertainment, dance, TV, building, DIY, photography, fabric arts and more)
- Sciences, Environment, Nature, Wild Animals, and Biology
- Transportation and Geography
- History
- Adventure, Sports, and Games
- Biographies and Autobiographies
- Foreign Languages (fiction or non-fiction)
- Oldies and Specials in good condition
- Children’s and Young Adult
- Pets and Animals
- Cooking and food-related
- Gardening
Books accepted
Must have been produced within the last 5 years
- Travel
- Political Science, Current Events, Business
Books not accepted
- Books with missing pages
- Mouldy, dirty, or damaged books
- Textbooks or reference books
- Workbooks
- Dictionaries
- Bibles or other religious texts
- Magazines
- Reader’s Digest books
- Studies and reports
- Government publications
- Computer and technology books
About Books & Bling
The halls are filled with tables loaded with well-organized and lovingly curated fiction and non-fiction books, in categories ranging from art to travel with every beloved mystery and CanLit novel in between!
They’re a bargain –priced at just a few dollars, with most children’s books at or under a dollar. Exceptionally beautiful, valuable and antique volumes are professionally valued and displayed in a special section of the hall.
The bling is an eclectic collection of designer, vintage, and costume jewellery donated by Salt Spring Islanders. In the “Bling Room”, you will find necklaces, bracelets, earrings, rings, and miscellaneous items such as cuff links. We also sell bags of beads.
There is something for everyone. Every year, we find that a certain item is in demand.
We work with artisans on the island to help us appraise the higher-end pieces and identify hallmarks and gemstones. Solving the intriguing riddle posed by the hallmarks stamped onto a piece of jewelry involves skill, experience, and a wealth of knowledge.
Our prices are reasonable, ranging from $2 to $200. At the center of the bling room is a table draped in black velvet. This is where you will find the designer items, the gold, and the silver.
