LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WAVE) – A celebration of books and literacy has returned to downtown Louisville for the fifth year.
The Louisville Book Festival kicked off Friday at the convention center.
Each year, the festival brings thousands of book lovers together to encourage a love of reading in anyone, no matter your age. They’re giving free books to kids, connecting folks with community resources, and even teaching others about how books are made.
It’s something the festival’s founder became very passionate about when she worked in Child Protective Services years ago.
”I used books a lot in therapy to help kids communicate their feelings. Sometimes they won’t talk about what they’ve been through, but they’ll talk about problems in a book, and then you can get insight into how they think,” founder DeeDee Cummings said. ”Seven years ago, there was not a single bookstore in the West End, and so I was moved to do something about that and to call attention to it.”
Since the festival started, a couple of bookstores have opened around Louisville including ‘The Rosewater’ in Beechmont and ‘Set and Setting’ in Portland.
One author you’ll find at this year’s Book Festival is WAVE News Anchor John Boel with copies of his books “Cast Away” and “On the News… In the News.”
The Louisville Book Festival will reopen Saturday starting at 10 a.m. and will run until 5 p.m. It’s free and open to the public.
Last year, there were about 3,000 people who went. Officials are predicting this year’s attendance to more than double.
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