This holiday season at Snowfort was nothing short of magical, thanks to our warm and welcoming community. Amy and I were deeply moved by the kindness of old friends and the many new faces we had the pleasure of meeting during our pop-up events. It was a thrill to be interviewed on North Country Public Radio and then to be written about in The Sun. Those two features are both a huge help in getting the word out.
We are so grateful to the Westport-Wadhams Community Alliance, organizers of the Westport Holiday Festival on December 7, which marked the first day we opened our nascent bookstore to the public. Outside, a gentle snowfall set the perfect backdrop, while inside, the sounds of cheerful Christmas music created a festive atmosphere as visitors browsed the charming craft vendors we hosted in our kids’ space.
The next day we were proud to welcome our first guest speaker, Kristin Kimball, who read from The Dirty Life. That is a book that Amy and I love, one that has made a huge impact on our life as reading it helped us make our decision to move to this area. Kristin and Amy led a scintillating discussion about books and authors.
On the 15th, Loree Griffin Burns, author of One Line Line: Marching Caterpillars and the Scientists who Followed Them, and Maxwell Eaton, III, author of numerous books including Bear Goes Sugaring, came and read to an enraptured group of children. It was a fun and warm celebration of children’s books and their creativity, a party that lasted all day.
And our last pop up reading featured Amy Godine, author of The Black Woods, and Nell Irvin Painter, who read from her new book, I Just Keep Talking, which has been featured in numerous year-end book lists. It was a packed house. After they each read, they sat together on the dais and discussed some books they love. Afterward, we had a holiday toast.
Special thanks to our friend Josh Loomis, who prepared delicious food and drinks for each of these events. Our goal is to make Snowfort the coziest bookstore in the world, and Josh’s contribution went a long way to making that unreasonable boast a reality. We can’t wait to keep working on that goal.
And stay tuned for our next project, turning our old Skidoo shop into something else that’s full of magic. Happy New Year!
