COLUMBUS, Ga. (WTVM) - Families packed the Columbus Public Library for the 11th annual Columbus Children’s Book Festival.
The event ran from 10 a.m. until 3 p.m. on Saturday. The library was transformed into a kid-friendly book fair and street festival.
Award-winning children’s authors Louis Sachar, C.G. Esperanza, John Greene, and Sandra Markle spent the day meeting fans and signed books in the festival bookstore.
Organizers said the annual festival is designed to make reading fun and get children excited about books outside the classroom.
“This is a signature event where we’re really just trying to instill a love of reading for a lifetime for all the children and our community, it’s free and it’s fun,” said one organizer, Tiffany Wilson
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“I was always so inspired, reading my favorite books like Calvin and Hobbes and...You know, Dr. Seuss, so for me to be the one to create those books that might inspire more storytellers. I’m just overwhelmed,” said Esperanza.
Kids also got up close with costumed characters, enjoyed “craft o mania” art stations, checked out community vendors, and ate lunch from local food trucks.
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