For the 15th year, Tucson will shine on the literary stage. Preparations are underway for one of the nation’s largest book festivals scheduled for March 9-10.
Visitors to the Tucson Festival of Books will be treated to more than 300 presenting authors, covering everything from culinary and current events to memoirs and mysteries. The event also includes Science City for kids, literary circus performers, food trucks and hundreds of exhibitors.
Steering committee co-chair Trisa Schorr said volunteers help keep the event free to the public.
“We have over 2,400 volunteer slots," Schorr said. "The total volunteer hours just for the weekend, not including the work up through the festival, is 19,000 volunteer hours, which is pretty stunning.”
Volunteers work in the weeks leading up the festival, during the festival and after.
“They do everything. ... Jobs range from escorting authors and driving authors to setting up and hanging signs, staffing [the] food court, answering questions, doing some troubleshooting, clean up. It really runs the gamut,” Schorr said.
Committee co-chair Kim Rosborough said she got involved after mentioning how much she enjoyed the festival to a friend who was also a volunteer.
“It’s been a great ride,” she said. “You start out with two hours and then up on a committee and then the next thing you’re a chair of the committee, so probably 10, 11 years, something like that.”
Applications to volunteer are being accepted at the Tucson Festival of Books website. The event takes place March 9 and 10 at the University of Arizona. The event attracts about 130,000 people.
