BRIGHTON HEIGHTS — Despite a last-minute change in location brought on by rainy weather and smoky air, organizers of the inaugural Brighton Heights Book Fair are calling the event a success.
“It has been packed from the moment we opened the doors,” said Annie Perri Cole, a member of the fair’s organizing committee.
The fair was moved to All Saints Episcopal Church from its original outdoor location at Legion Park the day before the event, which was held on July 18. Organizers said the church offered the location free of charge.
While the switch made for a more constrained fair, it nevertheless managed to draw large crowds of people. Perri Cole estimated more than a thousand people attended the event, giving them the chance to browse books from 20 different vendors, listen to readings, meet local authors and get the chance to swap books.
The idea of the fair grew out of various book clubs in Brighton Heights as a way to celebrate and encourage reading. A committee was formed under the Brighton Heights Citizens Federation with representatives of these clubs, consisting of Perri Cole, Carlene Halmo, Jen Shumar and Kelly Roseberry.
Some of the participating vendors included Heroineburgh, a multimedia company that makes comics and videos based around female Pittsburgh superheroes, and Raven’s Quill, a mobile bookstore focused primarily on romance and fantasy stories.
The event also saw support from local businesses, with several donating items towards a silent auction, including California Coffee Bar, Pittsburgh Cycle Path and Allegheny City Brewing.
“The support from the community has been amazing,” said Shumar. With the apparent success of the book fair’s first iteration, Shumar said the committee has “already started planning for next year.”
