So much to do at Miami Book Fair’s Street Fair; here are highlights

Surrounded by books and authors reading from them is a given during the annual Miami Book Fair, one of Miami’s most beloved events bookworms wait for in anticipation each November.

But what about other events in addition to book purchases and author readings? There are plenty — fair organizers are continually adding new events to the mix and expanding on favorites, too.

The popular street fair at the 41st Miami Book Fair — this year from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 22 through Sunday, Nov. 24, once again features booksellers and publishers, a writer’s row, and an artisanal marketplace lining the Miami Dade College Wolfson Campus, 300 NE 2nd Ave.

New this year is the Reading Garden, an outdoor area to sit back and chill between author readings, peruse through your literary purchases or hang out with friends. It is the brainchild of Lissette Mendez, executive director of the fair, who found inspiration for the new area while on a trip to Milwaukee.

“I was walking around Milwaukee and seeing all the beer gardens around and when I returned, we brainstormed the idea of creating something similar during the fair and the name Reading Garden just stuck,” she said.

It is also the perfect spot to bring people together around Bookleggers Library, a nonprofit mobile library that will be on-site, where fairgoers can grab a free book.

Also new this year is The Pavilion, created to provide an additional spot for author readings. According to book fair organizers, the new pavilion gives fairgoers a street-level spot to see authors.

(Check out the author’s schedule at The Pavilion)

The Reading Garden and The Pavilion are adjacent on the corner of NE 2nd Ave. and 3rd Street.

Looking to capitalize on the recent soccer craze in Miami of superstar soccer player Lionel Messi, organizers have also added the FIFA Experience at Children’s Alley. There, kids can stop by and work on their soccer skills with drills and participate in a fun virtual reality adventure. It is happening at the lower plaza of Children’s Alley.

Kids bang on tub drums at the Children’s Alley during the 2023 Street Fair at the Miami Book Fair on the Miami Dade College Wolfson Campus in Miami. (Photo by MagicalPhotos.com / Mitchell Zachs, courtesy of Miami Book Fair)

Other highlights of the Children’s Alley include:

A BattleBots Demo at 11:30 a.m. on Friday, Nov. 22 at 11:30 a.m. and Sunday, Nov. 24 at 2 p.m., the world of combat robotics at the Learn! Canopy. Create artwork during Art Rocks! DIY Stone Paintings with Tori Scott, where participants transform simple stones into Jackson Pollock-style masterpieces on Sunday, Nov. 24, at noon and 2 p.m. at the Create! Canopy.

Calling it a mini music festival, Off The Shelf The Space Between Words A Music Fest with Books, features a diverse line-up of live music and performances each day of the street fair.

Highlights include music from Fabi World Music Trio (12:45 p.m., Saturday, Nov. 23), The Jazz Collective (10 a.m., Saturday, Nov. 23), Celia Cruz Allstars (5:45 p.m., Sunday, Nov. 24), Stone Groove (2 p.m., Sunday, Nov. 24), Niuver and the French Horn Collective (4 p.m., Sunday, Nov. 24) and the legendary Rock Bottom Remainders featuring authors Amy Tan, Dave Barry and Stephen King (7 p.m., Saturday, Nov. 23).

Sprinkled in with the musical groups will be live performances by Oscar Fuentes, best known as Miami’s own The Biscayne Poet (noon, Saturday, Nov. 23), and Eric Garcia who goes by Uncle Scotchy (11:30 a.m., Saturday, Nov. 23). Both are a fixture around the city. Fuentes best known for composing poems on the fly at his typewriter has the recently published book “Relics of the Heart: Stories of My Family”; Garcia had a run of his one-man show “The Blues Opera” with Miami’s immersive Juggerknot Theater Company.

Mendez encapsulates what it means to present this annual event saying, “we are so immensely proud to continue our tradition of creating a space to celebrate books and reading, and the stories that illustrate our shared humanity. “

Download the Miami Book Fair guide to map out the three street fair days:  www.miamibookfair.com/downloadable-guide

WHAT: Street Fair at Miami Book Fair

WHERE: Miami Dade College Wolfson Campus, 300 NE 2 Ave.

WHEN:  Gates open at 9 a.m., events and strolling begins at 10 a.m. through 7 p.m.

COST:  Free, Friday, Nov. 22; $12 admission at the gate Saturday, Nov. 23 and Sunday, Nov. 24, $7 senior (over 62); $5 for teens (ages 13 to 18); Children ages 12 and younger admitted free and for Miami Dade College students, faculty and staff with valid ID. Multi-day tickets are $18, $12 and $8.

INFORMATION: miamibookfair.com/street-fair-hours-and-admission

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