In 2017, my mother and I attended the AJC Decatur Book festival for the first time. We went again this year and the experience was much different from the last.
The first time this event was hosted was 13 years ago and what started out as a small production, has expanded into a flood of people on the streets of downtown Decatur.
My family arrived at the festival around lunchtime and with all the movement of people, it was hard to decipher the sidewalk from the street. Once we got to the area of the actual event, a tent of people greeted us with maps and schedules of everything going on that day. From then on, it was books galore. Multiple shelves under huge white tents were lined with genres of all sorts.
With the number of books to look through outside, the heat didn’t feel like a typical summer’s day. Instead, it was stuffy and hard to breathe. While I thought it would be a little cooler under there, it felt like it was five degrees warmer with no air flow. I didn’t notice how bad it was until I walked out into the sun and the 90 degree weather felt good.
My favorite tent at the festival was the one with rows of old books. There are classics, poetry, philosophy and many other genres to look through. Although the prices can be a little higher in this area, the books are unique and one of a kind. I looked through many shelves and doing so reminded me of the movies where the character runs their fingers along the spine of the books and subtle music plays. Then, you’re brought back to the reality of a crowded tent and people behind you are getting annoyed at how long you have been looking.
Decatur also has small shops to look in. The book store, Little Shop of Stories, is filled with more modern books but the interior is incredible. On one area of the floor, hundreds of pennies are glued down and add for a little twist to their shop. There are paintings everywhere and it’s made to look like a fun place for people of all ages. Down the street is a retro candy shop with regular sweets and things that might be harder to find in a grocery store. However, the stores “thing” is different flavors of soda. I don’t mean orange, cola and grape — while they do have those — there are also flavors like bacon, butter and even grass. I’m not sure how any of them taste, but for anyone so adventurous it could be fun to try.
The city also puts on shows in the park during the festival. Last year, I watched a theater group perform a Shakespeare play. This year, I stopped for a minute and saw a young student singing her heart out under the pavilion. The book festival has a little bit of everything and is a great place for anyone creative. If you are a person who enjoys food and entertainment, this would be a great place to sit down and eat lunch before exploring more tents.
Every year on Labor Day weekend, three days are dedicated to smaller authors meeting readers and for anyone to find a book to lose themselves in. To learn more about the Decatur Book Festival, you can check out their website here.
