Downtown Columbia Partnership to Host The Region’s Premier Book Festival on June 2 at Newly Renovated Merriweather Post Pavilion.
The Downtown Columbia Partnership proudly announces the third annual Books in Bloom book
festival, Columbia, Maryland’s ultimate celebration of the joys of books and reading. Books In Bloom will bring together some of the country’s best and brightest authors for a daylong festival featuring readings, panel discussions, children’s activities, live music, curated culinary offerings, rosé and beer garden and a pop-up bookstore by Busboys and Poets. The festival is free and open to all. Registration is requested via Eventbrite.
The Downtown Columbia Partnership promotes and advances the growth of Downtown Columbia as a vibrant, diverse, economically robust and desirable place for employment, entertainment, living and learning. Its initiatives, such as Books In Bloom, include supporting cultural and arts programs aimed at enhancing residents’ quality of life. Howard County is home to one of the most well-educated communities in the country and is well-known for its book clubs, poetry and literature organizations, literary publications and award-winning library system.
Presenting Sponsor The Downtown Columbia Arts and Culture Commission works to expand artistic and cultural activities in and around downtown Columbia and at Merriweather Post Pavilion, while Presenting Sponsor The Howard Hughes Corporation is currently undergoing a transformative redevelopment of Downtown Columbia spanning 391-acres. One of the hallmarks of the redevelopment is the repositioning of Downtown Columbia as a true urban core and regional hub for culture and commerce, including the festival’s iconic location this year: Merriweather Post Pavilion.
Some of this year’s highlights:
Books In Bloom features critically acclaimed and best-selling authors participating in readings, panel discussions and other activities. Participating authors include:
- Award-winning chefs Kwame Onwuachi, author of Notes from a Young Black Chef: A Memoir and Edward Lee, author of Buttermilk Graffiti: A Chef’s Journey to Discover America’s New Melting-Pot Cuisine in conversation on telling your story – from knife to pen.
- Offering unique perspectives on immigration are former VP of Special Projects at Fusion TV and reporter Laura Wides-Muñoz, author of The Making of a Dream: How a Group of Young Undocumented Immigrants Helped Change What it Means to be American and children’s author and the first Afghan-American woman to run for Congress, Nadia Hashimi, author of The Sky At Our Feet.
- Honoring the 50th anniversary of Stonewall and celebrating Pride are Matthew Riemer and Leighton Brown, authors of We Are Everywhere: Protest, Power, and Pride in the History of Queer Liberation, and Charles Kaiser, author of The Gay Metropolis: The Landmark History of Gay Life in America.
- A panel on the role of Black Feminism today featuring Feminista Jones, author of Reclaiming Our Space: How Black Feminists Are Changing the World from the Tweets to the Streets and Brittney Cooper, author of Eloquent Rage: A Black Feminist Discovers Her Superpower.
- And so much more! Click here to view the developing lineup.