Barb's Book and Music Sale is off to a great start after people lined up to get into the venue at Sahali Centre Mall on Saturday morning.

Kathy Humphreys, general manager of the Kamloops Symphony Orchestra, estimated as many as 100 people passed attended the sale during the first hour.

"I don't think I've ever seen this many people in here," she said, adding doors opened at 9:30 a.m.

For 20 years the sale has been a primary fundraiser for the KSO, starting as an annual event before becoming one that organizers hold twice a year.

Kamloops resident Bruce McNeely attends almost every year, and enjoys the variety of books and music, he said.

"I like to support the symphony, and appreciate the music as well, as I play guitar and piano," said McNeely.

McNeely said he believes the symphony is important because it promotes classical music, both modern compositions and the more traditional, he said.

"The symphony does like to showcase some of the young Canadian composers," said McNeely.

He had in hand sheet music from the movie Ben Hur, a film he's enjoyed since he was a boy.

"This is from my younger days," he said.

Most of the items on sale for the next two weeks sell for $1 or $2, although Humphreys has seen rare books go for as much as $75.

New books, instruments and music are dropped off daily, so Humphreys encourages people to come back often. Novels by bestselling authors and books on B.C. and Kamloops history are consistently popular, she said.

The event's creator, KSO board member Barb Corbishley, died in 2005. The sale lives on in her name.