Rose City (Portland) Book Fair Comes in June, Vancouver in October

Residents of the Pacific Northwest, both sides of the border, have a couple of book fairs to which they can look forward. The eighth annual Rose City Used Book Fair is scheduled for Friday and Saturday, June 13-14, this year. This year's edition will be held at the Doubletree hotel in the Lloyd District of downtown Portland, Oregon. The fair is sponsored by PAUBA, the Portland Area Used Booksellers Association. The location is ideal for those who would like to combine a weekend in Portland with a fair that has proven to provide a fun time and some good finds for those who collect old or other interesting books.

Forty booksellers, mostly from Oregon and Washington, though California and Utah are represented as well, will be participating in this year's event. The fair organizers promise there will be thousands of books available in the categories of used books, rare and collectible books, bargain books, ephemera, and prints. There will also be door prizes for some lucky attendees. The price of admission is a most reasonable $2, but if that is too steep, $1 and a can of food for the Oregon Food Bank will do. Cash proceeds go to the Food Bank. Children 12 and under get in free.

Hours for the fair will be Friday from 2:00-8:00 and Saturday 10:00-5:00. The Double Tree is located at 1000 NE Multnomah in Portland.

For those who like to plan ahead, to get ready for fall now that spring has finally arrived, dates have been set for the only annual book fair in western Canada. The Vancouver Book Fair will be held, of course in Vancouver, on Saturday October 4 and Sunday October 5. Hours are 1:00-7:00 Saturday, 11:00-4:00 Sunday. It will be held at UBC (University of British Columbia) Robson Square. This is the university's center in downtown Vancouver.

The fair will feature many of western Canada's largest booksellers. Attendance, based on past shows, figures to be close to 1,000 visitors. The fair organizers say “a wide selection of antiquarian, collectible and rare books, ephemera, maps, prints, manuscripts and works on paper will be on offer at the fair - including Canadiana; children’s and illustrated; fine press and limited editions; history and military history; literature and fine arts; modern first editions and signed copies; natural history; travel and exploration; science and technology as well as many other subject areas. The items on offer will range from 15th century incunabula to 21st century modern first editions.”

The cost of admission is $8, but a $2 discount coupon is available from the fair's website – www.vancouverbookfair.com.