HARRISBURG, Pa. — The Harrisburg Book Festival turns the page to its 12th annual event next week.
The Festival will again be held at Midtown Scholar Bookstore, which has previously been recognized as Publishers Weekly Bookstore of the Year.
Organizers say it's an event for the community to come together and celebrate literature.
"When you're reading a book, you're reading it in isolation," Alex Brubaker, executive director of the Harrisburg Book Festival, said. "But when you have a book festival, you're bringing that isolation, and you're bringing it with the collective community. So we just wanted to bring the community together over our love of books."
There will be over 30,000 discounted books of all genres selling for just $1, $2 and $3 at the outdoor tent sale along Verbeke Street adjacent to the bookstore and in front of the Broad Street Market. The tent sale is rain or shine.
But the books are just the beginning of the Festival. There is something for everyone, including dogs who are up for adoption and a pop-up barbeque stand. A fun option available for budding and serious readers is alike is picking up a "blind date with a book"—a novel wrapped up so the purchaser can't see the title or author until they want to read it.
"We love books; we think they have a profoundly positive impact on our community," Brubaker said. "You know, they unite us, they delight us, they inspire us, they expand our worldviews, they make us more empathetic."
There will be writers from every corner of the book world in attendance, like New York Times bestselling authors James McBride, Olivia Blake, Richard Chizmar, Chuck Wendig and Edwidge Danticat; and Pulitzer Prize winning authors Eliza Griswold and Davids Blight.
Children's Day will be hosted on Saturday, Oct. 12 from 10 a.m. - noon. All ages are invited for family-friendly activities like face painting, story times, build-a-bookmark craft, a scavenger hunt, a selfie station and a visit from the Harrisburg Senator’s mascot, Rascal.
The Festival runs from Wednesday, Oct. 9 - Sunday, Oct. 13 and is open from 10 a.m. - 6 p.m. each day. Click here for a full schedule and more information about the five-day event. The Midtown Scholar Bookstore is found at 1302 N. 3rd St. in Harrisburg.