The Alpine Rotary Club's Third Annual

 Way-Out-West Texas Book Festival & Concert!

     Mark your calendars: This year's festival will be held July 29, 30 and 31 at Sul Ross State University in Alpine, Texas. This is the first year the festival will have two full days of author programs for adults and children, so it's a family affair!

     The event begins with a Thursday evening (July 29) Meet-and-Greet social hour followed by an old-fashioned West Texas Barbecue, 7 p.m. at Kokernot Lodge. Special guests and dignitaries will be introduced. This and the other evening activities are ticketed events.

     Friday's programs, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. will feature activities, readings and performances for young people. Accomplished authors and performers will instruct, inspire and entertain youngsters from toddlers to upper teens. Denise Chavez, Xavier Garza and Benjamin Saenz, among others, will present programs in both English and Spanish. Location of all daytime programs Friday and Saturday is the SRSU Espino Conference Center, 2nd Floor, University Center. These and all other daytime programs are free and open to public.     On Friday evening participants will gather for a reception and dinner at the Espino Conference Center. A special program is planned including an after-dinner reading and performance by the dynamic Denise Chavez! (This is also a ticketed event.)

     Saturday, July 31, will kick off at 9 a.m. with a keynote speech by acclaimed novelist David Morrell, creator of the First Blood trilogy and its famous character, John Rambo. Morrell has written a score of other bestselling action-adventure novels and is often called the father of the modern action novel. The festival coincides with the release of his The Shimmer (in paperback), a cross-genre thriller set in a thinly disguised version of Marfa, Texas.

     The Saturday schedule features prominent authors in readings, panel discussions, poetry performances, and audio-visual presentations. See Featured Authors pages for more information. Precise schedules will be posted as soon as programming is complete.

                Benefit Concert for Alpine Public Library

In a grand finale, The Flatlanders, featuring Joe Ely, Jimmie Dale Gilmore, and Butch Hancock, will perform in a benefit concert at the Pete P. Gallego Center on Saturday evening, July 31. The proceeds from this concert will support the Alpine Public Library capital campaign. Go to "Flatlanders Concert" page (see table of contents above, left) for ticket information. For background information on the Flatlanders, go to: http://www.theflatlanders.com/bio.html  

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This event is sponsored in part by a grant from Humanities Texas, the state affiliate of the National Endowment for the Arts.