National Book Festival

Besides all the great events that come to campus (concerts like Maroon 5, comedians like Jon Stewart and Robin Williams, and national figures like Hillary Clinton and Karl Rove), one of the best things about GW is that it's in DC. Yes, I'm sure that you all know that, but even going here, sometimes you can forget that there is a whole city outside of our 6x8 block piece of it. And in that city, lots of great events (which are sometimes free!) occur just a short walk or Metro ride away. 

2009 National Book Festival

Along that line, even though I've been in the city for 3 years, I realized that I had yet to experience one of the best FREE events in the city (if you're an avid reader like me) - the National Book Festival. The all-day event down on the National Mall has tons of different authors spanning various genres, like mysteries and thrillers to biographies to childrens books. Each author not only gives a talk (about their books, their inspiration, their families, etc.), but also hold book signings.

Lisa Scottoline

This year, two authors finally made me experience this festival for myself- Paula Deen and Lisa Scottoline. Very different, but 2 of my faves. If you check out the pages I linked to, you can actually watch a webcast of the talks they gave. The day, of course with my luck, was overcast and rainy, but it was still a lot of fun and a great experience.

Vickie