This post may appear to have a local flavour that the reader may initially believe does not apply to them unless they live in the Haliburton Highlands. But there are lessons here I want to share in the hopes that every community will latch onto the idea of bringing writers and readers together. I think I can speak on behalf of the hard-working committee of the Arts Council Haliburton Highlands who made this event possible and say that we hope Bookapalooza will make a lasting impression on young minds, drawing them into the imaginary, and real, worlds presented by writers who have a message, or experience, to share – creating life-long readers in the process. We also aspire to elevate the writers in our midst, enabling them to share their work with readers,
Bringing readers and writers together was the stated mission of our recent Bookapalooza event in the Haliburton Highlands, Ontario, Canada. It sounds like an easy task. Invite writers to sell their books and voila! Readers appear. Invite businesses that help writers publish and voila! More writers appear. Not really that easy. There needs to be more to draw in the crowds of book-thirsty readers and publishing-craving writers.
The committee worked hard to forge partnerships with like-minded organizations such as the Lion’s Club of Haliburton and the Haliburton County Public Library. These organizations added substance to the event and drew families to experience the joy of reading and writing. For example, the Lion’s offered a free book to every child and sponsored readings by published children’s authors, thereby engaging young readers and writers in a meaningful interaction with successful authors. Perhaps one day one of those children will say they were inspired to write by that interaction. Or maybe they will give this event credit for being a lifelong reader. The library provided information about programming to the families and just days later families who had never attended a library event began to bring their children. What a delightful outcome! Literacy is so important to the future of our children and the prosperity of our world.
To draw in adult readers the committee arranged presentations by local authors. By this, I don’t just mean people who write books. Songwriters and playwrights were included. Presentations highlighted the experience of writing a memoir, telling a story in 3 minutes in a song, explaining how to bring to life the words on the page in the form of a play, and the joy of writing poetry. My personal contribution was a workshop about how to collect information from informants with a specific focus on preserving family history.
Another event, a hiking festival, was happening the same weekend. Instead of thinking of it as competition, we chose to use it as a way to enhance awareness of both events. A hike titled, “Boots & Books” was created and led by none other than the amazing author Terry Fallis. In this way, we each promoted the other’s event and made it possible for participants to attend both.
In the evening there was an event called “The Big Book Club”. It was an opportunity to meet and hear about the experiences of one well-known, successful, Canadian author: Terry Fallis. He was interviewed on stage by Chris Stephenson, Chief Executive Officer of the Haliburton County Public Library. The result was a delightful exchange between a skilled interviewer and an expert author with the readers and writers in the audience drawn into the question period.
Blue Heron Books, with help from its owner Shelley MacBeth, made it possible for attendees to purchase a signed copy of Terry’s books at the evening event. We will be forever grateful for her role in facilitating this process. I know for me the signed copy of a book by a favourite author lives on after the event and causes memories to flood back in whenever I see or touch it. Memories that are not only about the content of the book but of the experience of hearing firsthand about its birthing process.
The Haliburton Highland’s Bookapalooza was the brainchild of a subcommittee of the Literary Arts Round Table of the Arts Council Haliburton Highlands. It’s just one initiative that is helping local writers find their place amongst the other arts in our local community.
The event was a success and provides a strong foundation for future events. Without the hard-working committee, dedicated to doing what needed to be done, it would not be thus. I wish to acknowledge the hard work and commitment of Renée Woltz (chair), Ruth Walker, Kathy Purc, Gail Stelter, Irene Davidson-Fisher, Andrea Brown, and Kate Butler.
I challenge every community to find a hard-working committee to launch an event such as Bookapalooza! It will bring joy to many and provide a solid base for readers and writers to connect while promoting literacy in your local community
