Warwick. Children’s Book Festival returns Oct. 9 at Stanley-Deming Park

The Warwick Children’s Book Festival, a celebration of children’s literature, will return this year on Saturday, Oct. 9, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Stanley-Deming Park.

Admission is free and the festival is open to all the young and young at heart. The festival will bring together more than 50 distinguished, award-winning authors and illustrators of books for children to meet and chat with readers, sign and sell their books, which will be available for purchase on-site.

The Uncle Brothers will perform a free concert for children under the bandstand at noon.

Therapy dogs will be on hand to listen to children read their new books, and volunteers will assist children in making a simple craft to take home.

Stanley-Deming Park is centrally located and features an accessible playground, a swing set, restrooms and plenty of room for families to spread out.

Food trucks - Smokin’ Grate BBQ, Empanada Master and Crumm Cake Cupcakes - will be on hand. The park is a short walk from shops and cafes in downtown Warwick and a short drive from local apple orchards and farm markets.

The festival , which debuted in 2005, is presented by Albert Wisner Public Library and a portion of the proceeds will benefit the library’s programs and services. Glenn P. and Susan D. Dickes, steadfast Library benefactors and champions of children’s literacy, are the principle sponsors.

The Village of Warwick, ShopRite and the Warwick Valley Farmers’ Market also provide generous support.

Complete details about the festival, including profiles of the participating authors, are available on the festival’s website: warwickchildrensbookfestival.org.

All visitors ages 2+ will be required to wear a mask under the festival tent itself, which is open-sided. This policy is for the safety and comfort of all, and is in place regardless of visitors’ vaccination status.

Visitors are encouraged to bring their own reusable bags to bring home their book purchases.