Book event is a reader's paradise

Canandaigua author Larry Dickens will be among authors featured in a festival Nov. 16.

By KAREN BOUGHTON SIEGELMAN/Messenger Post Staff

Readers of all ages are invited to enjoy a day of storytelling, browsing and mingling with book characters, authors and illustrators on Saturday, Nov. 16, at the United Methodist Church of Webster, 169 E. Main St.

The sixth annual Rochester Children's Festival will bring together over three dozen writers and storytellers from upstate New York. Throughout the day, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., authors will be on hand to read from their books, lead activities relating to their stories, and autograph and personalize their titles for book collectors and holiday shoppers.

This free event, co-sponsored by the Webster Public Library and the Rochester Area Children's Writers and Illustrators (RACWI), will also provide an opportunity for families to purchase these books and have their picture taken with various book characters.

"Rochester area authors have been invited to attend book fairs in other states, and it occurred to us that there is such a strong community of children's authors right in this area that we could have our own festival," said Vivian Vande Velde of Greece, one of the featured authors. "Our purposes are to raise money for local public libraries, to promote literacy by encouraging family reading and to give the public a chance to meet authors and illustrators — some new, but many of them known nationally and internationally."

The authors also enjoy getting together for this festival, said Rich Freeman of Fairport, who has written eight guides on hiking and biking in various areas of New York state with his wife, Sue.

"Writing can be a lonely job sometimes, so getting the opportunity to meet other authors at this festival is wonderful," said Freeman, who left behind the corporate world after 23 years to begin his writing career. "We also enjoy appearing at the festival because it's a family audience with parents getting a chance to see what kinds of books their kids like and the kids getting a chance to enjoy themselves in a relaxed atmosphere."

At this year's festival, the Freemans will be showing off their latest book, "200 Waterfalls in Central and Western New York," which is a map-filled guide of places that people can drive or hike to.

"As with all of our books, it took one to two years to do the research because we hike to every place that we write about," said Freeman. "This latest book has surprised us because it has taken off very fast."

Another local author who will appear at the festival, Marsha Hayles of Pittsford, said the quality of writers that participate in this annual event is amazing.

"It is so impressive to meet some of the nationally known authors that live in this area," Hayles said. "I remember a few years ago, as a new author, I stood there with only one book on my table and watched as people visited with the more well-known authors. At last year's festival I was so touched when a man came up and pointed to one of my books and told me it was his daughter's favorite. It was so wonderful to hear. I never imagined that happening to me."

Hayles will be introducing her newest book, "The Feathered Crown," a Christmas story about birds that fly to Bethlehem.

"In all of my books I try to show joy and playfulness and I enjoy using rhyme," said Hayles, who has written three other picture books. "I do not write to follow any trends. I write from the heart."

Joan Foley Baier of East Rochester, author of "Luvella's Promise," a fictional story of a young girl growing up in the mountains of Pennsylvania in the early 1900s, said she writes primarily about inner struggles.

"Stuff happens to all of us, old and young, but it's how the stuff affects us and how we deal with it that makes a story," Baier said. "Writing for children allows you to think and feel as a child, which is not at all difficult for me. Writing for children keeps you aware of young people's passions and problems and their often-brilliant ways of dealing with them."

Some of the other local authors who will join Baier include: