BookFest Success Makes Us FeelGood

Uh, so why did it take so long for Seattle to re-establish a local book festival after the Northwest Book Festival fizzled out in 2003? Regardless, there seems to have been some sort of suppressed need for such a thing, as the good folks who decided to resurrect a literary festival have received an utter deluge of community support and participation for the project. The inaugural Seattle Bookfest--taking place this weekend at the Columbia City Event Center--is so stuffed with authors and speakers, exhibitors and neat events that it boggles the mind to know that the whole thing evolved from a few Columbia City residents getting together this spring and saying, "Hey, why don’t we try to put together some kind of book festival?"

It’s free, so stop by (please make a cash donation!) and wander the halls of the former Columbia School building while feeling inspired by the success of this grassroots effort to bring an annual citywide book festival back to Seattle.

October 24 and 25, 10 a.m.-6 p.m. // Columbia City Event Center, 3528 South Ferdinand Street // Free (suggested donation $5)