GOING TO THE (BOOK) FAIR                         Thomas Hillegass You know you are on the right track when you turn off Interstate 81 south of Harrisonburg, Virginia, onto a country road flanked by pastures of mournful-eyed cows and you find yourself in dense traffic rivalling that of suburban Washington.  Next you notice licenses from New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and more distant points and the entire stream turns onto a dusty, narrow farm lane.  Directed by a gang of smiling country kids, you take your place in a grassy field of cars near several massive steel-framed buildings from which pour hundreds of happy bibliophiles with bulging boxes and bags. You have arrived at the Green Valley Book Fair where 500,000 new books are offered six times yearly at prices of 60% to 90% off retail. If you love books and bargains, you have found hog heaven in the Shenandoah Valley. Twenty five years ago, Kathryn and Leighton Evans, who sold miscellaneous items at area flea markets, found that they had accumulated more used books than they could tote around.  As in an old Rooney/Garland movie, they "cleared out the old barn" and had a sale.  Well, the neighbors flocked in and now the Evans family, four grown children included, manage an awesome emporium of books, tapes, CDs and videos; over 30,000 titles in all. One building has nothing but children's books and volumes on crafts, hobbies, sewing, gardening and cooking.  The crowd here is at least 80% women and children, examining colorful books for themselves and, especially before Christmas, for gifts.  The other, a two level structure, offers a dizzying variety including history, travel, computers, business, psychology, fiction, literature and more.  Here it is a more mixed group of browsers -  students of military history, armchair travelers and those eternally optimistic fans of self-help books. The books are overstocks, returns and "hurt" books from publishers and wholesalers.  The Book Fair buys them by the truckload, 10,000-20,000 in a lot.  As publishers get better control of their production and distribution, it is becoming more challenging to buy volumes that can be offered at the Book Fair's extra low prices. As the Green Valley Book Fair is in the beautiful Shenandoah Valley, you may want to make a weekend of it.  The Book Fair's Internet home page (see box) offers information about nearby restaurants, B&Bs and other Valley attractions. The once-famous Natural Chimneys are nearby, where jousting matches are still regularly held.  Drive a little and explore the interesting towns of Staunton, Lexington and Charlottesville. The Skyline Drive is to the east, with camping at Big Meadows and lodges at Skyland and Panorama.  To the west is the George Washington National Forest, with camping and swimming at the beautiful Todd Lake Recreation Area.  Along I-81 are many motels and Bed and Breakfast inns. Luigi's Restaurant at 1059 S High Street (RT 42) in Harrisonburg is a favorite James Madison University student hangout serving great pizza, calzone, Greek salad and beer.  Fast food of all varieties is available in Harrisonburg near the interchange of RT 33 and I-81.  For the other extreme in dining, try the elegant "three star" Joshua Wilton House at 412 South Main Street in downtown Harrisonburg. You may find yourself returning time and again, as do the author and his wife, mostly just to enjoy the Shenandoah Valley and for the fun of "going to the fair". _____________________________________________________________ JUST THE FACTS The Green Valley Book Fair, Inc. Rt. 2, Box 434 Mt. Crawford, VA 22841 (800)385-0099 (540)434-0309 Email: gvbookfair@aol.com Web Site: http://members.aol.com/gvbookfair DIRECTIONS Take I-66 west to I-81 south.  After you pass Harrisonburg, take Exit 240, where the sign says "Mt. Crawford, Bridgewater".  Go east on RT 682 about 1.5 miles to the Green Valley sign.  All told, it is about 2 hours from Washington, D.C.. For a more scenic return route, take I-81 north to RT 211 east at New Market.  You will pass over the Blue Ridge, under Skyline Drive, through Sperryville (with it's eclectic "Emporium") and Warrenton to join I-66 at Gainesville.