The first big book sale of the year is coming up.
The Charleston Friends of the Library will hold its first of five yearly book sales Feb. 22-23 at the Otranto Regional Branch at 2261 Otranto Road in North Charleston. It runs 9 a.m.-6 p.m. Feb. 22 and 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Feb. 23.
Prices start at $1 for paperbacks and $3 for hardbacks. Children’s books start at 50 cents. Funds raised support the county library system. Admission is free.
For more information go to www.CharlestonLibraryFriends.org.
The love bug makes people do crazy things, but shelling out a lot more money on loved ones than last year is not one of them this Valentine’s Day.
Spending is expected to rise 3.9 percent, less than half of the 8.5 percent increase last year, according to the National Retail Federation’s latest survey.
The average person will spend about $131 on candy, cards, gifts and other items, up from $126 last year. Total spending will reach $18.6 billion.
Men will spend the most, on average $176 on jewelry, flowers, a romantic evening out and more, or nearly twice as much as their counterparts, who will shell out about $89.
About 51 percent of people will buy candy, and more than one-third will treat someone to flowers. About 20 percent will buy jewelry while nearly 16 percent will buy clothing. Fifteen percent of gift givers will also include a card.
The Lowcountry is losing another Food Lion.
The Salisbury, N.C.-based food chain owned by Belgian company Delhaize Group will close its Food Lion store at 65 Sycamore St. in West Ashley by mid-February.
The store, which opened in the mid-1990s at the juncture of St. Andrews Boulevard and Sycamore Street, is one of eight “underperforming” stores being shuttered, according to Food Lion spokeswoman Christy Phillips-Brown.
Stores in Greer and Union are also included among the South Carolina closings.
The clearance sale for the Charleston store starts Wednesday, with most items marked up to 25 percent off.
The supermarket chain closed three other stores in the Charleston area last year. Two in Mount Pleasant and one in Moncks Corner went dark after the company closed 126 stores nationwide.
The struggling book industry will take another hit in February when the longtime Books-a-Million store closes in West Ashley.
The Birmingham, Ala.-based bookstore at 832 Orleans Road beside Best Buy hoisted a banner on the storefront over the weekend announcing its departure. It opened in 1994 across from Citadel Mall.
Store manager Jonathan Frasier said the store’s last day will be Feb. 16, but he declined to give a reason for the shop’s demise.
“I can’t disclose why we are closing,” he said.
All items in the store are marked down 20-50 percent.
The store has 14 employees.
Frasier said he doesn’t have plans for another job yet.
“I’ll find something,” he said.
The closing will not affect the sister store at Northwoods Mall.
Piggly Wiggly is putting its money where its mouth is.
As part of the Charleston-based company’s “Local Since Forever” advertising campaign, the grocery chain has launched a giveaway game promotion with over 500,000 instant prizes and discounts worth more than $1 million.
Each time a customer shops at a participating store through March 5, a shopper will earn a Local Since Forever Giveaway game ticket. For every $50 spent, a customer will earn a bonus ticket. Shoppers can earn up to five tickets per day. There is no limit on how much or how many times a customer can win, but the more one shops, the greater the chances of winning.
Major prizes include a $20,000 cash grand prize, plus an additional $5,000 for the winner to donate to the local school of his or her choice; five prizes for free groceries for a year; 15 prizes for free gasoline for a year; 50 prizes for $1,000 local getaways; and 1,000 prizes of local food prize packs.
For more information, visit your local Piggly Wiggly store or ThePigGiveaway.net.
