By Alexa Kwiatkoski
Mt. Vernon, scenic home to many a pleasant outdoor fair, hosts the Baltimore Book Festival this weekend. This yearly event celebrates books and Baltimore culture. It features author readings, writer workshops, book signings, local exhibitions, booksellers, food, drinks, live music and activities for kids.
Cooking books and demonstrations are also a big hit, located mostly on the Food for Thought Stage.
Always active in Baltimore culture, Hopkins’ own George Peabody Library, The JHU Press and JHU’s Sheridan Libraries will all be there. Watch out for them in the exhibit hall and historic stack room of the grandiose Peabody Library.
Another selling point of the Book Festival is that fairly famous writers often show up. Last year it was Erin Morgenstern, known for her fantasy-romance The Night Circus. This weekend look out for best-selling author of detective fiction, Laura Lippman.
Featured writers are usually organized into groups, and many lead panels in intimate gatherings. These discussions are put on by the Bank of America Literary Salon and the CityLit Stage, as well as other sponsors.
This year is particularly special because local theater group CENTERSTAGE is celebrating its 50th anniversary. To commemorate the occasion, it has concocted 50 Fest. This event extends from the Book Festival with performances from local actors, poets and dancers.
CENTERSTAGE has also combined with Mt. Vernon’s expansive Enoch Pratt Library to launch "The Big Read." This initiative brings Baltimore native Edgar Allen Poe’s work to life in a series of dramatic performances.
Some other exciting exhibitions are the Maryland Romance Writers Stage and the full weekend of programming put on by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America. There’s also my personal favorite, the Radical Bookfair Pavilion, sponsored by Red Emma’s Bookstore Coffeehouse in Mt. Vernon. That’s always good for some kooky knick-knacks.
As someone who has attended these past two years, I can assure you it’s a lot of fun. Even if you’re not a book fanatic. It’s not hard to get to Mt. Vernon either; just take the JHMI shuttle past Penn Station.
So make sure to come out this weekend. Take a break from studying or whatever you’re doing to avoid studying, and visit the Baltimore Book Festival. It runs Friday and Saturday noon-8pm and Sunday noon-7pm.
