Christmas is coming and with it, unfortunately, a lot of Creston citizens going over the border for shopping. The free turkeys at the Safeway in Bonners Ferry will take a lot of business from our grocery stores and the low cost of gas at Porthill has taken business from the gas stations here, as has the low cost of building supplies on the U.S. side of the border, among many other things. As almost rabid supporters of local artists and local businesses, including Gleaners, we are encouraging library patrons and everyone in the community to think about the artists who have shown their work in the library and in their own studios. Before you even think about going to that Kmart in Coeur d’Alene, remember Black Bear Books and Kingfisher along with the local artists and businesses. That also includes the artists who have produced the great wine at the newest winery in the area, Baillie-Grohman.
Local businesses are the bones of community and part of how Creston’s identity and uniqueness is maintained. They have been disappearing from our main street at a frightening rate and we are becoming indistinguishable from every other town, large or small, in North America with the franchise restaurants and hotels that appear in strips along the highway. Consider supporting your neighbours with your spending this year and not some head office in Toronto or New York.
Creston and area can also be identified by its artists and artisans, and in that respect we are absolutely amazing. That also describes the show currently up in the library, a special project by the Creston fibre artisans. At the time of this writing, the show has only been up a week, getting rave reviews and a lot of attention. As their profile sheet states, “Their penchant for manipulating, embellishing, twisting, burning and dyeing of diverse fibres produces works with decided dimensional and unusual effects.” There isn’t a gallery anywhere with a better show of fibre art.
It’s time again, too, for the Book Under Every Tree campaign organized by Columbia Basin Alliance for Literacy co-ordinator Linda Steward. The boxes have been delivered to the schools in the area and various retail and public buildings in town. We are looking for books for all ages and books that are new or in like new condition. The books will be picked up and then added to the Christmas hampers the second week in December. There will also be a box of books available to choose from for community members picking up their hampers at the community complex so books for all ages are greatly appreciated.
The short list for CBC’s Canada Reads came in yesterday and the library has three of the five titles, Ken Drydan’s The Game, Marina Nemat’s Prisoner of Tehran and John Vaillet’s The Tiger. The remaining books, On a Cold Road by the Rheostatic’s Dave Bidini and Something Fierce by Vancouver-based Carmen Aquirre have been ordered. This is the first year Canada Reads is focusing on non-fiction. It is an interesting looking collection covering completely diverse topics.
Ann Day is the chief librarian at the Creston and District Public Library.