The Word on the Street Festival is free for all ages and features plenty of book-loving fun. The festival will take place from 11am to 5pm on September 27th in four Canadian host cities - Halifax, Toronto, Kitchener and Vancouver. With ample entertainment, authors and bookish surprises, organizers promise that this year’s festival is bound to be the biggest yet!
Check out the feature authors, events and activities in one of these four Canadian cities.
Word on the Street Halifax
In its 15th year, Word on the Street Halifax will take place at the Cunard Event Centre. Be sure to check out the Reader’s Marketplace where book and magazine publishers, literacy organizations and associations and independent publishers will display all they have to offer. There are several stages with various shows including Our Children Kids Stage and Halifax Seaport Main Stage. Some of the featured authors of the day include John Demont, Vicki Grant and Jennifer McGrath Kent.
Word on the Street Toronto
For their 20th anniversary of the Toronto segment of Word on the Street, book lovers are in for a treat as the crowds view center stage in Queen’s Park. Highlights include a reading by world-renowned Canadian author, Margaret Atwood from her new book The Year of the Floods. There will be several new events featured at the Marketplace including the Money Matters Tent and the Cooks n Books Stage. Some of the confirmed authors for Word on the Street Toronto include Bonnie Burnard, Kenneth Oppel, Elizabeth May, Leon Rooke and Charles Pachter.
Word on the Street Kitchener
This eighth annual Word on the Street will be held at Victoria Park, Kitchener. Victoria Park will be flooded with exhibitors including private bookstores, authors and publishers. Some of the feature authors include Shane Peacock, Carolyn Beck and Shani Mootoo. For the kiddies, there will be a reading with Erick Traplin in the Heritage Canada Children’s Tent as well as face painting, glitter tattoos and stilt walking. On September 26th, Atwood fans will be in for an exclusive treat as the author reads from The Year of the Floods at 11am at Kitchener Public Library.
Word on the Street Vancouver
Vancouver’s Library Square will be the center of the action this year for Word on the Street Vancouver. In its 15th year, Word on the Street Vancouver will team up with Vancouver Global Comedy Fest to add hilarity to the mixture. Other must-see events include the tents on Homer Street and Hamilton, renamed Magazine Mews and Literacy Lane for the festival. Literary personalities including Michael Turner, Caroline Adderson, Susan Musgrave and Ivan E Coyote will be among the long list of authors expected to read. There will be a WordSearch on the Street, as well as a Kids Only Scavenger Hunt for the little readers out there.
For a full list of the various authors, publishers, events and exhibitionists at the Word on the Street Festival in Vancouver, Kitchener, Halifax and Toronto, check out the Word on the Street website. The site includes directions and additional details on free literacy fun for the whole family.
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