April 5&6
The first weekend in April is always LitFest weekend, and another one is just around the corner. My team has been busy busy busy making plans – they are a fabulous group of talented volunteers and I appreciate them. Truly.
We are also fortunate to have many local partners as well like; The Word Barn, The Water Street Bookstore, and the Exeter Public Library. They are all busy getting ready for this year’s festival weekend, too. So much fun!!!
Here’s some history – Back in 2018, I had an idea to create a town book festival and a group of us did so in 2019 on a shoestring budget (aka NO budget). A couple of years later, I was able to register our little homegrown festival as a NH 501c3 non-profit. We held some super fun fundraisers over the years – like the Death by Chocolate chocolate shop crawl and murder mystery, the Exeter Goes Gatsby jazz dance party, and the Spooky Folsom historic tavern Halloween costume party, to name but a few. (There is a photo gallery on the website if you want to check out some: EXETERLITFEST.com)
Today, I am happy to announce that this year we have received a healthy grant from the Dan Brown Charitable Foundation, so we are able to take the fest to the next level. Thanks Dan 🙂 (Dan was our first keynote speaker.)
Today, also, I announce that I am stepping back as prez of the LitFest Board on May 1, 2024. I’ll still be on the board, but I think its time to give the leadership to people who are professionally in the literary field. (As you may have surmised over the years, my passion tends toward community organization and civic projects.) I will announce the new LitFest prez just before the keynote speech on April 6th.
It has been a pleasure to work on this project that helped to raise up the diverse voices of Exeter, and now the region. May it bloom and grow for decades!
RM Allen
PS Profound gratitude to my husband, Lew, for his patience and love.
PSS Here is the 2024 poster – see you there 🙂
RM-Allen.com 