Happiest of Holidays!

The Christmas season is in full swing at the Timrod Library. We’ve got the halls decked and holiday book recs at the ready.

We’re also still basking in the glow of the beautiful day that was Fall Fest on Nov. 8, because that’s how the holidays kick off here in Summerville. Fall Fest at the Timrod Library has been an annual autumn event in our town since 1975. Going back to its founding in 1897, the Library has depended on occasional book sales, among other efforts to keep the lights on and books on the shelves.

The Timrod’s status as a nonprofit library— privately funded and open to the public—means being creative about fundraising. Born of that creativity, Fall Fest is the Library’s biggest fundraiser and possibly the best day of the year at the Library, not only because it raises much-needed funds, but also because it brings the community together.

For anyone who hasn’t experienced the heartwarming goodness of Fall Fest at the Timrod Library: It’s a day-long celebration in early November for everyone who loves books, libraries, and good cheer. Outside, there’s a giant sale of every kind of book, under tents covering most of the library grounds along Central Avenue, plus, sweetgrass baskets. Inside the Library, you’ll find a selection of bookish gifts, and all kinds of holiday food. The Catherine Stewart Reference Room becomes a vintage bookshop, a trove of unusual, rare, and hard-to-find editions. A silent auction offers antiques, vacation getaways, pickle-ball lessons, and more.

Although it is a one-day event, the planning and preparation to make it happen goes on all year. The Fall Fest committee of the Timrod Board of Directors does the planning, working closely with the Library director, staff, and regular volunteers. Even with this hard-working group in place, though, it would be impossible for Fall Fest to be all that it is without the help and generosity of well over a hundred volunteers.

Everything that is sold at Fall Fest is generously donated by people who love the Library, and all the work is done by volunteers and Library staff members who go far above and beyond their regular hours. Then, when the doors open on the big day, more Library supporters pour through the doors and pore over the books in the sales tents, excited about the treasures they’ll find.  This combination of people who love books making a special day for friends and neighbors who also love books is not-so-secret ingredient that makes the magic of Fall Fest, and we are grateful.

It's a day that brings the community together to show its love of books and support for the Timrod Library. It’s an ideal time for running into people you haven’t seen in a while; for meeting new book-loving friends over a cup of coffee on the front porch. Hands down, it’s the best way to welcome the holiday season.

And at the end of a very long and busy day, when Fall Fest is done, the Library staff, board members, and volunteers look at each other and say “What a great day! Let’s do it all again next year!”

And we will—after we rest up just a bit! Hope to see you there!