Edible Books Festival brings out the sweetness in literature

Grove City College hosts the fourth annual Edible Book Festival from noon to 2 p.m. Monday, April 8 in the Great Room of the Breen Student Union on campus.

The Edible Book Festival celebrates literature and the arts by inviting participants to create a book made entirely from edible materials. Inspiration comes from recognizable features of a favorite book or character, a creative pun based on the title of a book or an entry that looks like a book cover.

“It’s a fun, unique event that brings together everyone in the campus community who loves books and food in a friendly competition for a great cause,” said Megan Babal, public services and outreach librarian at the College’s Henry Buhl Library, which is sponsoring the festival with the Department of Communication and Visual Arts.

The festival functions as a contest and a fundraiser, with members of the campus community – groups and individuals – creating the edible books and others “voting” for their favorites with spare change donations.

Proceeds support Grove City United Way’s Imagination Library, a chapter of the nationwide Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library, which gives free books to children up to 5 years old in the Grove City School District. There are currently 138 kids in the program, which since its beginning in 2009 has given out 17,278 books.

The entry that raises the most money wins a pizza party and gift basket courtesy of the College Bookstore and Bon Appetit, the campus’ food vendor. Gamma Chi Sorority has earned victory in the festival for the past two years.

“We encourage everyone who loves to bake and play with their food to enter,” Babal said. “Everyone is welcome on the day of the event to look at the entries, vote for your favorite and help us pick a winner by donating spare change to help out this great program in our community.”

Edible Books Festival brings out the sweetness in literature

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