Edible Book Festival April 2

Posted on by Nicholas Ferraz de Oliveira

The 7th Annual Edible Book Festival will be held on April 2, 2012, at the University YMCA (1001 South Wright Street, Champaign). The campus and local community is invited to experience this unique intersection of the book arts and cuisine. Public viewing begins at 11:30 a.m., a welcome and the local celebrity judges’ commentary takes place at 12:15 p.m., and consumption of entries starts at 12:45 p.m.

Edible art entries have a connection to books as shapes or content. Prizes will be awarded for the best culinary creations—which will be displayed, judged, and consumed. The Corn Ultimatum, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Scone, The Velveeta Rabbit, A Midsummer Night’s Dreamsicle, and Anne of Green Bagels were among the entries last year.

“The zany notion of edible books inspires so much creativity. Cakes, vegetables, candy, bread—almost any ingredients can be used to depict a favorite story or mimic the shape of a book,” said Sue Searing, UI librarian and coordinator of the Edible Book Festival. “You don’t have to be an expert cook or a scholar of literature. What counts is imagination!”

This year’s festival is hosted by the University YMCA and sponsored by the University Library .

Judges will include Dan Keding, storyteller; Lisa Bralts, director of Urbana’s Market at the Square; and Glen Davies, artist.

The 7th Annual Edible Books Festival at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign pays homage to the International Edible Books Festival. The International Edible Books Festival, an annual event held around April 1, celebrates the birthday of French gastronome Jean-Anthelme Brillat-Savarin (1755-1826), famous for his book Physiologie du goût—a witty meditation on food. This ephemeral global banquet allows anyone to preserve and discover unique bookish nourishments.

Please visit www.library.illinois.edu/ediblebooks/ for more information about the 7th Annual Edible Book Festival.

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