Popular Choochokam fringe curtains available at old price till end of festival

LANGLEY — The European plastic fringe curtains that have been a hit during Choochokam are back this year, and it’s the last chance to get them at the old price.

The curtains are an alternative to traditional screens to keep insects out of the house. They are made from brightly colored plastic strips and the Friends of the Langley Library have imported the curtains for years as a fund-raiser.

The curtains have been used for years in Italy, Spain and Belgium instead of screen doors, said Nancy Lindholt, a former library branch manager and longtime member of the Friends of the Langley Library.

Lindholt was the one who introduced the cheery curtains to Langley. She had lived in Europe and knew the curtains.

“They helped keep the bees out of the library, so I brought some down and when people saw them, they wanted to buy them,” Lindholt recalled.

So the Friends of the Library gave shoppers what they wanted.

“They helped with the first library renovation and then even more so with the enlargement in circa 1994 when the present library grew approximately three times greater.”

The Friends of the Library started to sell the curtains during Choochokam.

“It all started in circa 1978,” Lindholt said.

Lindholt said they are so popular that the Friends of the Library have shipped them all over North America.

“They’ve been a marvelous fundraiser and so many people are delighted with them. From California to Arkansas to eastern Canada — we’ve shipped them with the help of the Friends of the Langley Library,” Lindholt said.

The curtains are $25 for the multi-colored “capri” style and $45 for the solid “scala” style, which comes in a variety of colors, said Gwen Brass of the Friends.

The curtains will go up, so to speak, after this year’s festival.

“After Choochokam, the price will go up,” she said.

The proceeds of the sale of the curtains go to funding the children’s programs at the library, poetry night and a variety of other programs. The sale will also help pay for minor improvements at the library, such as the recent replacement of the photocopy machine, Brass said.

Contact South Whidbey Record Island Life Michaela Marx Wheatley at mmarxwheatley@southwhidbeyrecord.com or (360) 221-5300.

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