Reading in the Wild

Wordfest and Calgary Public Library are excited to announce Reading in the Wild, Calgary’s first annual outdoor Read-A-Thon! Imagine Calgary’s most beautiful inner-city park bursting with people of all ages enjoying the simple pleasure of reading outside. It’s time to bring those books off the shelves and into the sunshine! This event is for everyone – children, teens, seniors, friends, neighbours, colleagues, new Calgarians, well-behaved pups. Readers of all ages will be welcome to bring a blanket and book (or borrow one on site!) to the Park, to read amongst fellow readers in the wild.

This free, all-ages community event takes place on June 25 in Central Memorial Park, home to Alberta’s oldest library – opened in 1912 with funding from Andrew Carnegie, it is now a still-thriving national historic site as well as Wordfest’s year-round performance space, where we connect the world’s best writers with the world’s best readers.

You can bring your current read or we’ll supply the magic: You can choose from a specially curated selection from the Library’s collection, organized by age and interests, which you are welcome to check out at any time from the fabulous Memorial Park Library staff. Don’t have a Library card? You can sign up for a free one on the spot!

“Icelanders have Jolabokaflod, where families read together on Christmas Eve,” says Shelley Youngblut, Wordfest’s CEO & Creative Ringleader. “We wanted to create something just as life-affirming for Calgarians, but we wanted to expand the circle to include loved ones and perfect strangers. Fortunately, the perfect place to gather to celebrate curiosity and community was right outside my office window: a unique event in Memorial Park, in collaboration with Calgary Public Library, Wordfest’s founding partner.”