What Is The Giant Charity Bookfest?

BookFest is the Heretaunga Bookfest Charitable Trust's major annual fundraising event. It began with the Heretaunga Rotary Club in 1995, then with the closure of the Rotary Club in 2020 it was passed to the Heretaunga Bookfest Charitable Trust.

BookFest is an annual event for avid readers, the young and not so young keen to store up on books for the coming winter and beyond. Some 100,000 books, magazines, games, puzzles, CD's, DVD's and vinyl records go on display at Whirinaki, the UHCC exhibition, event, education and community centre. Books purchased contribute towards the many worthwhile community projects supported by the Trust. Learn more about our beneficiaries.

Books etc. can be dropped off year-round at our Trentham Racecourse premises, then about three months before BookFest, collection points are set up at selected supermarkets and pickups can also be arranged from within the Hutt Valley. A dedicated team of volunteers meets weekly to check, sort and box the books ready for the big event. Some street fairs are also attended with a book stall.

Our operational workforce is the large number of volunteer supporters who help at the weekly book sorting and with running our events.