Baltimore Book Festival unites book-lovers

The Baltimore Book Festival filled the Inner Harbor this weekend, drawing crowds with stands of used and discount books, talks by renowned authors, local food vendors and live music. The free festival was sponsored by the Maryland State Arts Council.

“Because there were so many books and so many writers [I] got this inspiration to read, and I haven’t had that feeling in a while,” senior Kenzie Lane said. “There were so many books for just $5. They had a really awesome selection.”

Each day of the festival had a unique schedule of events. The festival featured many different tents and pavilions along the Inner Harbor — most located in Rash Field — and many children’s activity booths near the Maryland Science Center. There were also food and drink vendors along the harbor. A number of tents were coordinated by festival sponsors, non-profits and other groups.

On Friday, there were readings and performances on a number of different stages. Mark Mazzetti, author of “The Way of the Knife,” and Kate Brown, author of “Plutopia,” each spoke about their respective works on The Ivy Bookshop stage at Rash Field. At the Literary Salon, there was a Ladies’ Night with wine, snacks and a panel of Maryland romance writers. At the Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers of America tent, there was a panel on Social Justice in Science Fiction & Fantasy with panelists Anne K. Gray, Sunny Moraine, Alex Schvartsman and Fran Wilde.

There were even more festivities on Saturday at the tents gathered about the Inner Harbor. Steve Boone, the author of Hotter Than a Match Head: My Life on the Run with the Lovin’ Spoonful, spoke at the CityLit Stage at Rash Field. The Food For Thought Stage at Kaufman Pavilion hosted a number of cookbook authors, including Sam Fromartz, Rob Kasper & Boog Powell, Jillian Lagasse, Emily & Melissa Elsen, and The Fabulous Beekman Boys. The Literary Salon hosted readings with Tavis Smiley, author of Death of a King: The Real Story of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s Final Year, Edward Ellie, author of The Man from Essence: Creating a Magazine for Black Women, Alice McDermott, author of Someone: A Novel, and others.

The events continued through Sunday afternoon as the different tents continued hosting panels and author’s readings. The Radical Bookfair Pavilion hosted Bill Barry, author of The 1877 Railroad Strike in Baltimore, Karsyona Wise Whitehead, author of Notes from a Colored Girl: The Civil War Pocket Diaries of Emilie Frances Davis, Jay Gillen and Students from the Baltimore Algebra Project, authors of Educating for Insurgency: The Roles of Young People in Schools of Poverty, and Marshall “Eddie” Conway, author of Marshall Law: The Life and Times of a Baltimore Black Panther. The Charm City Comics Pavilion at Rash Field hosted a panel called “Getting Comic Books and Graphic Novels Into Your School of Library” and held a workshop on Character Design hosted by Darren Soto and sponsored by Art Way Alliance.

Lane said that there were so many events and readings at the festival that it was hard to choose where to go.

“I would recommend to plan out your day if you want to hear speakers,” Lane said. “My friend and I more or less wandered, which was still fun.”

There were also a number of activities for kids at the Children’s Craft Corridor, located by the Maryland Science Center. One tent had towering piles of Legos crafted by young visitors throughout the weekend. A game of Words With Friends, played on a large display, kept many children captivated. A chess game with pieces the size of some young attendees also held the attention of many visiting children, and attracted visitors to the Science Center. On Friday from ten to four, the #EpicBookFest featured activities specially intended for children and young adults and sponsored by, among others, the Enoch Pratt Free Library, CityLit, and the National Aquarium. The Enoch Pratt Free Library Children’s Stage also presented a number of performances and activities for children throughout the weekend. There were a large number of activities available to children and young adults, especially within the Children’s Craft Corridor.

Food and drinks were available from a number of stands along the water and were sold by a number of vendors. At the Baltimore Book Fest Café, there were many items for sale, including wine, flatbreads, charcuterie boards, and more. Other stands sold ice cream, baked goods, frozen yogurt and smoothies, and more, and many attendees brought their food with them to the various outdoor performance spaces, including the West Shore Music Stage.

Many different businesses and charities also had stands at the Festival, including a number of sponsors of the event and a number of local publishing houses. One of Johns Hopkins many links to the Baltimore community could be found at the Johns Hopkins University Press & Peabody Library booth near the Baltimore Area Visitors Center.