Library ready for Word On The Street festival

By Justin Seward - Lethbridge Herald on September 20, 2024.

Herald file photo - Authors chat with festival goers during a book signing at last year's Word on the Street event at the Lethbridge Public Library.

Many different types of literature will be on display for attendees to learn about at The Word On The Street Lethbridge Book and Magazine Festival on Saturday at the Lethbridge Public Library.

The festival will see authors, illustrators and performers coming in from across Canada, the U.S. and locally taking to seven different stages throughout the day to have discussions on their literature and as well there will be local bands on site.

“It’s always one of our flagstone events here at the library, ” said Elisabeth Hegerat, the library’s community advancement manager.

“It’s just a really great chance to not only take part in helping celebrate and promote the written and spoken word in the literary arts in Canada, but also bring our community together and give people a chance to just get out, discover a new author (and) learn more about writing about all sorts of things.”

There will be writing workshops and other events happening during the course of the festival.

Headliners such as Danny Ramadan, a Syrian Canadian author, will speak about his Crooked Teeth memoir about the experience of being a queer Syrian refugee and his children chapter book series on Salma Joins the Team.

Mystery author, Iona Whisaw, returns to the festival to talk about her series about a detective in B.C.’s Interior in the 1920s.

Arounna Khounnorag is a textile artist that will be at the festival to talk about her Visible Mending book and takes a dive into repairing and mending clothes.

Meaghan Hackinen will speak on her Trans Am Bike Race experience through her book Shifting Gears.

“We’ve been able to over the last years build up a pretty good reputation and bring in some fairly high profile authors,” said Hegerat.

Those authors and more will be attending Saturday’s festival from 11 a.m.- 5 p.m. at the library’s downtown branch.

Food trucks, a vendor market place, scavenger hunt and interactive outdoor games will also be at the festival.