A squad of UBCO book fairies are secretly placing books around UBCO and downtown Kelowna for international Hide a Book Day.
Lesley Cormack is playing the role of book fairy as UBC Okanagan gets set to celebrate its annual homecoming.
Cormack, deputy vice-chancellor and principal of the Okanagan campus, along with a squad of UBC book fairies, are secretly placing books around campus and downtown Kelowna. People who find the books are encouraged to keep and enjoy them. She and the book fairies, including Kelowna Mayor Colin Basran, will be hiding the books for upcoming international Hide a Book Day. Inspired by international book fairies—including the Duchess of Cambridge Kate Middleton and actress Emma Watson who have hidden books in cities around the world—UBC Okanagan brings the book-sharing movement to Kelowna for Hide a Book Day as part of its Homecoming celebrations.
Lesley Cormack, UBCO’s deputy vice-chancellor and principal of the Okanagan campus, is hiding books all over campus as part of international Hide a Book Day.
Cormack is a professor of history and a self-proclaimed bookworm.
“Books offer us an opportunity to understand ourselves and our world through immersion in other worlds, times and people’s experiences,” says Cormack. “They challenge us to learn something new in a way that can enhance and possibly change our lives.”
International Hide a Book Day takes place on September 18 and is timed perfectly to help promote UBCO’s Homecoming weekend on September 24 and 25.
More than 100 free books will be hidden including books authored by UBC alumni such as David Suzuki and Douglas Coupland. Coupland also serves as the featured speaker at homecoming.
Cormack encourages people in the community to participate by looking for books or hiding their own favourite reads for others to discover, and she hopes those who find UBC’s hidden books also participate in Homecoming events such as a virtual wine tasting on September 26 featuring four Okanagan wineries.
Information about UBC Okanagan’s Homecoming weekend, and registration links, can be found at: ok.ubc.ca/homecoming
More information about international Hide a Book Day can be found at: ibelieveinbookfairies.com.
