The Thomas More College Creative Writing Vision Program invites all to the 24th Annual Caden Blincoe Outloud Festival on Sunday, Feb. 21 from 2-4 p.m. in the Science Lecture Hall located on the main Crestview Hills, Kentucky campus. This event is free and open to the public; appropriate for people of all ages who would like to hear great regional writers share their creative literature in a festive, interactive setting.
Featured regional authors include Kentucky Poet Laureate George Ella Lyon (Many-Storied House), current Thomas More College Writer-in-residence Richard Hague (Where Drunk Men Go), Pauletta Hansel (Tangle), and Jeremy Paden (Broken Tulips). Tellico, a three-generation Appalachian family band, which includes Thomas More College English professor Sherry Cook Stanforth, performs traditional music between readings. Attendees are invited to enjoy appetizers and visit the authors at book signing tables during and after the event.
A special table will also be designated for local authors who want to share their books.
This annual event honors the late Boone County freelance writer and literacy advocate Caden Blincoe and emphasizes the importance of reading works “outloud.”
The Festival reflects Blincoe’s mission to offer great regional writing to everyone, including people who may not read or have access to books. The event also caps off a long list of public programs the College offered to honor the birthday month of its patron Saint Thomas More.
Stanforth, who is the founder and director of the College’s Creative Writing Vision Program, emphasizes the value of arts events that bring diverse groups of people together to appreciate the region’s heritage.
“Our mission is one of cultural continuance and active engagement. Lifelong relationships with literature grow from dynamic personal interchanges—people from all corners experiencing camaraderie and friendship in the interest of the spoken and written word,” says Stanforth.