Get Tix Now for Bookfest Banquet

Laurie Lye, chair of the Equality State Book Festival, sent this letter about the bookfest’s Oct. 20 banquet, an event that combines writing, music, and great food. Take a look....

Dear All:

Yesterday marked exactly 2 weeks until the book festival starts, and we are all getting very excited. We’d like to focus your attention on the Gala Banquet scheduled at the Parkway Plaza Hotel in Casper on Friday, Oct. 20.

It’s our goal to get all of you who are interested to go to the web site, download the document that is available via the "registration" tab, and send it in along with your payment. The last day we can accept a banquet registration is the 15th, so please don’t put it off any longer. We are not able to sell banquet tickets at the door. For those of you who register by the 15th, your banquet ticket will be awaiting you at the door that evening, organized under your name by our friendly ticket dispenser. The tickets are $25 each, and the menu consists of either a delightful Chicken Cordon Bleu or a tender Beef Filet, accompanied by a savory potato or saucy rice pilaf, warm rolls dripping with butter, salad with no spinach, coffee and assorted tantalizing desserts. Special arrangements for those gentle vegetarian folks can be made by noting this on your registration form. Who could resist?

And what do you get for this mere pittance? Well, let’s start with our own Tracy Pfau and his "Ju Ju Jazz" band. This fun-filled gang will be soothing our souls and tickling our fancies as we mingle with each other for a well deserved chunk of down time, and right-friendly socializing! The no-host cocktail bar starts at 6 p.m.; dinner will be served at 7.

But wait, there’s more! Our keynote speaker, Linda Hasselstrom, will be the evening’s highlight for those many authors gathered there. Linda is an award-winning poet, talented writer and editor whose work is rooted in the arid landscape of southwestern South Dakota. Hasselstrom's talk, "The Commonplace I Sing," recalls Walt Whitman's lines:

The commonplace I sing. . .
The open air I sing, freedom, toleration. . .
The common day and night-- the common earth and waters.

Her reading and talk will center on writers as a community of ordinary folks dedicated to writing the truth about their lives, particularly as these local and living writers represent the Great Plains and Wyoming. "I believe we do our best and most valuable work as citizens when we 'sing the commonplace;' " says Hasselstrom, "that is, when we write the reality we see from ground level. Our best qualities are expressed most truthfully by people who really live the life they write about." She will read and comment on some of her own work, as well as writing by other regional writers. Hasselstrom's books will be for sale at the event by Tammy, from Ralph’s bookstore.

You won’t want to miss this great sure-fire event. Register now. And thank you kindly for your time.

Sincerely,
Laurie Lye
Chair, Equality State Book Festival
- posted by Michael Shay @ 11:04 AM