It's a summer of celebration for Chuck and Dee Robinson, owners of Village Books, Bellingham, Wash. To begin, this weekend the store marks its 35th anniversary, Friday, June 12-Monday, June 15, with a two-day, 20% off sale; a penguin-naming contest; the presentation by Chuck of a new, updated edition of his memoir, It Takes a Village Books: 35 Years of Building Community, One Book at a Time; and an appearance by David Suzuki, author of Letters to My Grandchildren (Greystone Books), at the Mount Baker Theatre, part of the store's Booked at the Baker Series. (For a great interview with the Robinsons and general manager Paul Hanson and an overview of the store's history, see this piece in whatcomtalk.com.)
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| Chuck and Dee Robinson photo: whatcomtalk.com |
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The grand finale of the celebration: on Monday, Chuck, an avid biker, begins a 2,400-mile bike ride from Bellingham to Galva, Ill., where he will attend his 50th high school reunion in August. He'll take a few breaks on the trip--one is to attend Dee's high school reunion in Hastings, Neb.--but will then pick up where he left off. Dee will offer support along the way in their Rialta motorhome. To see his planned route and each stage, see his "big ride" blog, which he'll be updating from the road. He plans to visit bookstores on the way and encourages people to ride with him on stages.
The bike trip is also a fundraiser: Chuck is pledge $1 per mile to three groups--the Book Industry Foundation (Binc), the Whatcom Community Foundation and the Galva Foundation for Educational Enrichment. Pledges can be made here, and as Chuck points out, "A 1¢ pledge would be less than $25, 10¢ would be less than $250, and... well, you can do the math."
A sustaining contributor to Binc, Chuck said, "Binc has been instrumental in helping booksellers who have suffered hardships or emergencies, and in providing scholarships for higher education. It's a great foundation--and a way for booksellers and friends to help booksellers."
Binc executive director Pamela French commented: "The Binc Foundation was thrilled when Chuck told us about his ride--not only because of his generosity to us, but because he embodies the best qualities of booksellers in our industry--the vision and determination to spread great ideas and create strong community bonds. We truly appreciate Chuck’s dedicated support in spreading the word about our programs."
Binc board president Lori Tucker-Sullivan will join Chuck on August 11 and bike the last 50 miles of his ride with him.
As if the bike ride isn't enough to keep the Robinsons busy, Village Books is working on opening its second store, in Lynden, Wash.--a short bike ride from Bellingham--which should open in November.