News Photo by Steve Schulwitz Left to right Alpena News employees Ryan Sanders, Wes Gentry and Jason York stack boxes of books that will be for sale Saturday during the Newspapers in Education book sale at the APlex. The annual The Alpena News Business Expo also will be taking place at the same time.

ALPENA — The Alpena News Business Expo and Newspapers in Education book sale is an event that continues to grow from year to year. It is expected to be a popular event again this year when it is held Saturday at the APlex.

According to Advertising Manager Christie Werda, the number of businesses that will have stations set up to promote their products and services has increased from 2016. She said seeing the number of businesses that take part and the number of people who attend the event is good for all involved.

“We have a lot of returning booths, but also quite a few new ones as well,” Werda said. “There are nearly 50 local businesses with booths all in one spot , so potential customers can come in and see what Alpena has to offer.”

There will be a wide variety of businesses represented at the expo, Werda said. There will be everything from insurance professionals, health professionals, mobile communications providers, retailers and educational service entities. She said the Huron Humane Society also will have a booth this year.

Each of the businesses taking part have donated a door prize for drawings during the event and Stanson Floor Covering and Furniture has donated a recliner as the grand prize.

Coinciding with the expo will be the NIE book sale, which will be taking place in the gymnasium at the APlex. Each year thousands of books are donated to the paper and sold during the event at low cost. There will be hardcover and softcover books for sale that will feature fiction and non-fiction, children’s books, cook books and romance novels. The books range from a 25 cents to $2. There also will be CDs, DVDs and videotape movies for sale, and a few small games and puzzles.

Lifestyles Editor Diane Speer has spent the last several weeks sorting through the books and said there was no shortage of books donated this year and there is a lot for people to choose from.

“We have more books than we have ever had and the community really stepped up with their donations to make this possible,” she said.

The money from the book sale helps to cover the cost of providing newspapers in classrooms in schools in Alpena, Rogers City, Onaway, Posen, Hillman, Atlanta and Alcona. The papers are used in lessons and art projects.

Circulation Manager Ken Pokorszyski said there is a lot of valuable content in the paper that can help kids learn more about what is going on around them.

“Some of these kids haven’t even read a newspaper before and this gives them a chance to hold one in their hands and learn more about current events and things going on daily in their lives,” he said.

Team Arby’s will be selling food and beverages throughout the day and the proceeds will go toward the restaurant’s donation to Relay for Life this summer. Many of the vendors will have samples of their products and small gifts to those who stop at the booth to learn more about the business.

The expo and book sale are free to the public and begin at 10 a.m. and runs until 4 p.m. People are encouraged to arrive early, as there is typically a line of people waiting to get in. This year there also will be a shuttle available to help people get to and from their automobile.

Steve Schulwitz can be reached via email at sschulwitz@thealpenanews.com or by phone at 358-5689. Follow Steve on Twitter ss_alpenanews.

What: The Alpena

News Business Expo

and NIE Book Sale

When: Saturday from

10 a.m.-4 p.m.

Where: APlex