Write the Epilogue to the Summer of Reading at Lake Erie Lit Fest
Celebrating storytelling in all forms at Frontier Park
*PLEASE NOTE: THIS EVENT HAS BEEN RELOCATED TO MCCLELLAND PARK, 2600 E. 26TH ST.
SATURDAY, SEPT. 12
The Lake Erie Lit Fest is set to take over the Sixth Street side of Frontier Park. For one full day, the park will be filled with various forms of the written word – including kids' activities, giveaways, performances, readings, scavenger hunts, and more.
"When the Summer of Reading was formed, we were excited that the Lake Erie Lit Fest would be the culminating event. It has been great to see the community come together to celebrate literacy and the support from the mayor's office has been fantastic," says Kyle Churman, co-owner of Werner Books and Coffee.
Organized by the Erie Art Company with support from the City of Erie, Werner Books and Coffee, ECGRA, and other literacy-related community partners – this year's festival will include readings and performances from local writers, poets, and musicians, a dedicated kids' tent with crafts, games, and (of course) books, a free banned book giveaway, and a robust vendor market featuring books, food, crafts, and more.
The heart of the festival is the authors' tent – dozens of local and regional authors will be present with their books for sale, to meet-and-greet, to sign copies, or answer questions. "Our authors' tent will have over 25 authors ranging from romance to children's authors. We also implemented an AI policy that puts the focus on human creativity and imagination," Churman shared. The Friends of the Erie County Library will also be on hand to accept any donations of gently used books to be used for their many fundraising book sales throughout the year.
This year, the festival will feature a new element called the Book Crawl – this activity takes your reading adventures outside the bounds of Frontier Park. The Book Crawl is a literary scavenger hunt throughout Erie County – pick up your bingo card at the festival and start filling it in right there at Frontier Park. Collect stamps from the Erie County Library Bookmobile, Thousand Lives Bookshop, the Werner Book Bus, Book Club on Main, and Pressed (right across the street), then adventure to bookstores and libraries throughout the county to gather more stamps. Once you've got a bingo, you can drop your card off at participating libraries, book stores, or right at the Book Crawl table at the Lit Fest for a bookish raffle entry.
Churman is excited to continue to make Lake Erie Lit Fest a tradition in Erie: "Any opportunity to gather the community together to celebrate local authors, poets, and creators is a cause for celebration. We are excited to continue this yearly tradition in Frontier Park."
Noon to 5 p.m. // McClelland Park, 2600 E. 26th St. // Free // For more info: erielitfest.com
