Main Plaza was packed with lovers of literature on Saturday, October 1 for the annual Boerne Book and Arts Festival.
The festival, hosted by Boerne’s Patrick Heath Public Library, brought an estimated 1,000 visitors to the park for author discussion panels, live performances, and children’s activities. New this year was a Wine’d Down book discussion session featuring wine tasting to cap off the festival.
“The Boerne Book Fest is growing in stature, but firmly remains a downtown Boerne event and fun for the entire family,” said Kelly Skovbjerg, Director of the Patrick Heath Public Library. “It is an opportunity for us to showcase the library and all we do – from literature to history to children’s programs – in a fun celebratory day of all things literary.”
Discussion panels included topics such as Women and the Space Program; Texas Rivers; Dance Hall Days; and Myths and Mysteries of the Lone Star State. More than a dozen authors and writers spoke at the panels and performed readings of their works, including:
- E.R. Bills
- Sarah Bird
- Laurie Brown
- Eileen Collins
- Estella Hernández Gillette
- Donna Christopher Ingham
- Ginger Kerrick
- Cynthia Leal Massey
- Chris Mullen
- Sam L. Pfiester
- Steve Ramirez
- Jennifer Ross-Nazzal
- Andrew Sansom
- Carmen Tafolla
- James Wade
The Boerne Book and Arts Festival has been held for the last nine years and remains free and open to the public. If you couldn’t make it out to this year’s event, be sure to attend next year. You can follow the Book and Arts Festival on Facebook and Instagram to keep up to date or visit the event website.
Sponsors for this year’s event include H-E-B, Kay and Bryden Moon, Frost Bank, Bandera Electric Cooperative, Bending Branch Winery, Friends of the Boerne Public Library, Boerne Public Library Foundation, and The Deckle Edge Blog and Podcast.
(Pictured above: Women in Space discussion panel guest speakers)
(Pictured above: Texas Rivers discussion panel)
(Pictured above: Texas Myths and Mysteries discussion panel)
(Pictured above: Dance Hall Days discussion panel)
(Pictured above: Author Carmen Tafolla performs a live reading of her children's book)
(Pictured above: Festivalgoers sip wine during Wine'd Down panel discussion)