This past weekend, my family and I had a chance to attend the Books In Bloom Book Festival in Columbia, MD. In its third year, the event brings together the country's best and brightest authors for a daylong festival to celebrate the joy of reading and books. The festival features readings, panel discussions, children's activities, live music, curated culinary offerings, rose and beer garden, and a pop-up bookstore by Busboys and Poets.


The event was free and took place at the Merriweather Post Pavilion. It was our first time attending the festival and our first time visiting the venue. My kids are avid readers and were excited to go to a festival about books.



After arriving, we checked out some of the workshops that they had.



We had fun making our own bookmarks at the Bookmark Station.






The lawn area of the venue featured children's activities such as face painting, temporary tattoos, balloon animals, lawn games and more.










Books In Bloom also featured a pop up bookstore by Busboys and Poets.


The selection was pretty small and limited and unfortunately, my kids didn't find anything they liked.

I did manage to catch one of the author panels. This one featured Anna Palmer and Jake Sherman, authors of The Hill To Die On: The Battle for Congress and the Future of Trump's America in conversation with CNN correspondent, Kaitlan Collins.


Overall, we had a great time! I wish we were able to see Chef Jose Andres, but the kids were ready to leave before he was set to take the stage. We hope to come back next year!