Book sale co-ordinator Kath Wallace said the major fundraiser for the Regent Theatre Trust of Otago had been a great success.
"We’re absolutely delighted — the way the economic climate is at the moment, we were just thrilled with it," Mrs Wallace said.
"But the thing that I liked about it was watching everybody going out, and they all had smiles on their faces.
"They all seemed to be happy — it was a very happy sale.
"Everybody was talking to each other, and it made ... all the stress that went on beforehand ... worthwhile."
An army of more than 50 volunteers were bolstered by local cadets, the Otago Colts and the Taskforce Green workers, she said.
More than 2000 boxes of books were unpacked for the sale and 300 boxes of books remained after the shopping was done.
After every cent was counted, the book sale raised $101,237.03, Mrs Wallace said.
"It was quite an experience the first day — people pouring in.
"And it was unusual because we’ve never seen so many people in the first day coming in like that."
The total raised was slightly lower than last year, but every cent was valuable to the theatre.
The theatre was still recovering from the Covid pandemic, she said.
And because it was a live theatre, there was always something that needed repairing or something that had to be refurbished or replaced.
"It all goes to the Regent."
— APL
