Thousands of people have already donated to Lifeline Canberra to help make up some of the expected huge shortfall from the cancellation of the weekend bookfair.
Lifeline Canberra chief executive Carrie Lesson confirmed early on Saturday afternoon the entire event had been cancelled and volunteers had begun packing up at Exhibition Park.
After raising $250,000 on Friday, the organisation was primed for a bumper weekend and confident of reaching its $1 million goal, which is vital funding for the crisis support line.
Instead, abuse directed at visitors and volunteers on Friday and the destruction of fences overnight, forced the event to be cancelled.
"Anyone who attended yesterday would realise there was a lot of abuse for the people who came in to the book fair. In terms of what happened overnight, you could see the situation deteriorated and you could see fences being pushed over," Ms Leeson said.
"It was very distressing to watch ... we didn't have anywhere safe to park and people couldn't access us on foot without coming into contact with people at the camp, so it just isn't safe."
By midday more than 2000 people had donated to Lifeline Canberra, but Ms Leeson was unsure the total amount donated. She thought it unlikely the amount donation would reach the $1 million expected from the weekend, but "fingers crossed, you never know".
The final tally is likely to be known on Monday once the organisers have had a chance to review the donations. Donate online here.
She said she had "never seen anything like this", while noting that it seemed many people were donating to Lifeline Australia rather than to the local organisation which depends on the book fair fundraising. However, the two organisations will ensure the funds would be transferred to the local charity.
Some of the stock from the fair will be sent to Booklovers Lane at Fyshwick Markets. The book stall was set up about six months into the pandemic in order to provide a revenue stream when large events couldn't be held.
Other stock in good condition will be put into storage for the next bookfair. Ms Leeson was hopeful of selecting a new date in coming months once the stress from the cancelled event had passed.
"We will go again as soon as we can," she said.
The ACT government has announced it will contribute $25,000 to the appeal.
Lifeline Canberra had been committed to the 50th annual bookfair going ahead, despite sharing the EPIC grounds with a growing campsite of protesters.
Ms Leeson said on ABC Canberra radio the situation had deteriorated significantly overnight.
She said 10,000 to 15,000 additional people descended on Exhibition Park.
The security fencing around the bookfair was pushed over, Ms Leeson said, and campers moved into the site.
She said the event was well-supported on Friday, but admitted the proximity to the protesters had proved challenging.
"It wasn't a pleasant experience for so many of our community who came out to support us," she said.
"It was hard to watch.
"It was a wonderful day inside our bookfair, I can say that much."
Having earlier hoped the bookfair could reopen on Sunday and Monday, Ms Leeson confirmed the entire cancellation about midday.
"We live in the most beautiful city in the world for so many reasons, the main one being the people," she said.
Ms Leeson said the three major annual bookfairs collectively raised more than $1.5 million, compared with the $150,000 raised with mini-fairs in the past two years.
Earlier this week she said cancelling the fair wasn't really an option for the charity, which "survives on the smell of an oily rag".
Ms Leeson said with Lifeline in Canberra receiving just $200,000 in government funding for its $4 million annual running cost, the bookfair was crucial.
It comes after the Capital Regional Farmers Market was cancelled on Saturday due to safety concerns.
ACT Policing said it was is working with EPIC management to tell campers they would need to leave the site by the end of the weekend.
A spokesperson said ACT Policing expected protest activity "to focus on suburbs between EPIC and Parliament House".
"Overnight, a significant influx of people to EPIC saw fences moved and campers established in non-camping areas," he said.
"This unauthorised camping has taken up all service and parking areas allocated to the Lifeline bookfair. As a result, the bookfair will not open today.
"ACT Policing has allocated all available resources to manage this significant event and our priority remains the safety and security of all people in the ACT.
"Campers based at EPIC are reminded they must vacate the facility by tomorrow (Sunday, February 13)."
Some protesters have told The Canberra Times they do not intend to comply with eviction notices, though the majority have stated they will look for alternative arrangements.
