September 24th – A Great Success!

Thank you to all the fantastic volunteers, presenters, performers and visitors who made the 12th Annual Sonoma County Book Festival the best ever! Thousands of book lovers of all ages enjoyed an amazing day filled with poetry readings, author presentations, panel discussions, storytellers, puppets, marionettes, art workshops and more.

Our first year of closing Fourth Street was a tremendous success. The canopies from Wine Country Party and Events looked lovely under the sunny – but not hot – skies, as visitors wandered happily from exhibitor to exhibitor. Nearly 100 exhibitors dotted the Book Festival landscape, from the west side of Courthouse Square, to the children’s area on the east side of the Square, and along Fourth Street.

Many exhibitors reported that they had a wonderful experience at the event. A typical comment came from first-time exhibitor Alissa Flores: “I had a great time participating and hope to do it again next year. The buzz I got from meeting readers and potential readers, networking, and meeting fellow authors was wonderful.”

The addition of three new venues – La Rosa Tequileria & Grille, Mary’s Pizza Shack and Corrick’s – proved immensely popular. We were particularly gratified to see the party room at Mary’s Pizza Shack packed with enthusiastic teens throughout the day. As always, the Forum Room was buzzing with excitement as we hosted acclaimed presenters such as poet Jane Hirshfield, newscaster Belva Davis with Vicki Haddock, and popular North Coast author Ann Packer.

For the first time ever, we added a new interactive activity for kids – the Secret Agent Jack Stalwart Treasure Hunt. Children and their parents sought clues from downtown businesses and turned in the completed treasure hunt forms at the Kid Scoop News booth. Elizabeth Singer Hunt, author of the Secret Agent Jack Stalwart series, drew names of winning participants. More than two dozen lucky winners received prizes from Weinstein Books (publisher of the Jack Stalwart series), Copperfield’s Books, Snoopy’s Home Ice, or Sift Cupcake & Dessert Bar.

The Book Festival steering committee expresses our immense gratitude to our sponsors who make this free, public event possible. Please patronize the local businesses listed below and tell them how much you appreciate their support of the Book Festival.

See you September 22, 2012!