Just back from helping to set up Housing Works annual Open Air Street Fair.
Housing Works is a Non-Profit whose mission is two-fold: to end both AIDS and Homelessness.
Each year they close down a block of Crosby Street for a street fair, where Housing Works sells thousands of books, records, & DVDs, along with clothing & furniture: all with the goal of furthering its mission.
As I was unpacking the numerous books for display, I was utterly flabbergasted by the selection. Fifty year old art books that had been sitting on a shelf for nearly as long, sat alongside more recent best-sellers by Stephen King or Dean Koontz. Brand new DVDs, still sealed in plastic, sat beside how-to-speak Swedish cassettes. And every one of these was on sale for ONE DOLLAR!
At about 9:30, a crowd started to form, on the sidewalk across from the booths, soon swelling into the hundreds, and at 10:00 AM precisely, they swept down upon us like crows upon a carcass. Within minutes, entire boxes of books had been emptied! It did my heart good knowing where the money would be going, and knowing also that there are still people out there who love books this much!
I was lucky enough to pick up three books on Art History, part of a series by Elie Faure, published in 1937, the year of his death. They smell of dust, are lavishly illustrated, and though small in size, weigh in at over two pounds apiece.
When the date is set for the 2010 Open Air Street Fair, I will post here, so that you may make arrangements to attend. You'll be glad that you did.
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