Hays Edible Book Festival

Local lovers of art, books and food are joining forces and talents to head up Hays’ third edible book display, which will take place Saturday, April 5th at the Hays Public Library. The edible book display is part of the International Edible Book Festival, which is a celebration of food, creativity and books. The festival is celebrated annually throughout the world in April.

The initial idea for the festival came from Judith A. Hoffberg and Béatrice Coron during Thanksgiving of 1999. They contacted their friends and colleagues, created a website, and their first event took place in 2000. From there edible books went on display and were digested at art studios, university art classrooms and book stores all over the world. Since then, thanks to word of mouth, the event continues to grow each year.

As a free event for the public, everyone is invited to put their creativity to the test. Submissions for the festival will be accepted on Friday, April 4 from 3:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. and Saturday, April 5 from 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. at the Hays Public Library. Viewing of the creations will then take place Saturday, April 5 from 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.

Once everyone has had the chance to take a look at all the entries, the judges will announce the winners at 4:00 and then open up the entries for tasting. Two awards in both the adult and youth categories will be given out. Taster’s Choice Award will be given out to one entry in each category that tastes the best along with a $30 Chamber of Commerce gift certificate. The Eye Candy award will be given to the entry that looks the most appealing in each category, as well as a $15 Amazon gift certificate.

“We ask artists, cooks and everyone in between to create an edible work of art that addresses or identifies with a book, either the shape of it or the content,” explained Eric Norris, Adult Department Librarian at the Hays Public Library. “The only real limitations are the imagination.”

For questions or more information about the festival, contact Eric Norris with the Hays Public Library at 785-628-9014 or enorris@hayspublib.org. For ideas or inspiration, you can also go to the official website www.colophon.com/ediblebooks/ to see pictures of past entries.