Book-lovers descend upon Toowoomba for The Chronicle Lifeline Bookfest
See the photos taken at The Chronicle Lifeline Bookfest 2025 as avid readers mixed business with pleasure amongst thousands upon thousands of books.
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Bookworms from across the state travelled to Toowoomba at the weekend in search of bargain reads in support of a noble cause – Lifeline Bookfest.
The epic book sale and charity event was held at the Toowoomba Showgrounds on Saturday and Sunday with hundreds of people flocking to the Founders Pavilion for pleasure and business.
New to Toowoomba, florist Bella Clarke was right at home among the gardening books, searching for inspiration.
“I’ve also grabbed a few books to scrapbook with, which feels a little sacrilegious, but the illustrations are just so beautiful,” she said.
“There’s also some for display and reading as well because I’ve gone from living in an apartment to having a garden and now I’m like ‘ooohh I can go to town on that’”.
The young woman said she packed up her bags and moved to the Garden City after her partner Darby Waters landed his dream job with Ergon Energy.
“It’s so beautiful here and the weather is amazing. I love that there’s no humidity and that flowers grow so well here,” she gushed.
“Growing roses on the Gold Coast was always a mission because I would always get black spots, whereas here they grow like weeds, which I’m not complaining about!”
Despite living on the coast for her entire life, the business owner said she loved the town.
“It was a little nervous at first, but it’s really got everything here, which is fabulous.”
Sunny Coast locals Kim and Brian Jencke made the trek to Toowoomba from Hervey Bay, leaving with hundreds of Books for Ms Jencke’s small online business.
The 47-year-old said she started selling books online when she lost her job during the Covid-19 pandemic and hasn’t looked back since.
“After that, I decided to get into it full time and well I don’t need to go back to full-time employment,” she said.
“I love doing it, I love sharing and finding books that people are searching for.
“I get a lot of customers saying they found their childhood book that they’ve been searching for for years, so that keeps me going.
“I just love books… I don’t like scrolling on a phone reading.”
She said the work Lifeline does to support the community is invaluable.
“Lifeline Bookfest is just fabulous, and it’s great to see everyone help them raise money to support people in need,” she said.
“It’s my second year coming to Toowoomba for the event. I’ve always loved supporting Lifeline Bookfest no matter where it is,” she said.
Much to her husband’s worry about the weight of the load, Mrs Jencke said she planned to fill her car to the brim with books.
“I usually end up with between 700 and 1000 books,” she said.
“You never know what you’re going to find, and I’ve found a lot of books this time around that I’ve been chasing, so it’s been great.”
Lifeline Darling Downs CEO Rachelle Patterson thanked the community for their role in making the event come together.
“It is due to the ongoing generous donations of books, games, and toys from the community that we are able to put on such a fantastic sale every year,” she said.
Ms Patterson said the fundraising event was crucial for the organisation.
“All proceeds (are) staying in our region to fund our crisis, support, and emergency relief services,” she said.
“We rely heavily on the funds raised to ensure we can continue supporting our community who are currently feeling challenged on many levels.”
Photos taken on Saturday, March 1:
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