The Charlotte Literary Festival is returning to its NoDa roots.
After two years uptown, the two-day festival will be held once again in the city’s arts district, where it was born three years ago, on 36th and North Davidson streets.
Jameka Whitten, a spokeswoman for the event, said founder Darren Vincent wanted the festival to have more of a street feel.
“If it’s a community-based event, you really want it in the community,” she told Qcitymetro.com. “We just got a little bit more love from the NoDa community, so it kind of made sense to go back.”
Whitten said this year’s festival will have 35 to 40 authors, including Chris Gardner, author of “The Pursuit of Happyness,” and inspirational speaker Michael Beckwith, founder of Agape International Spiritual Center.
The event also will include outdoor carnival games, rides and a health panel at the Johnston YMCA. Whitten said the health panel would discuss homeopathic remedies and alternative medicines.
Vincent, owner of RealEyes Bookstore, started the festival in 2006 to raise awareness to the diversity of literature, culture and the arts.
The event’s original location was in a NoDa parking lot. The year after, it moved to the Blake Hotel uptown, then to the Charlotte Convention Center.
The festival’s indoor activities will be at the Neighborhood Theater and the Center of the Earth Gallery. Activities include workshops and seminars on health, financing and social media networking, Whitten said. The cost is $10.
There will be live performances by the Cachen Dancers, Flute Praise and musical artist Brian Andersen. Other entertainment includes spoken word and a performance by the North Carolina Dance Theater.
Last year’s festival drew more than 8,000 people and featured guests such as Essence Magazine’s Susan Taylor and sci-fi author Terry Brooks. Previous authors have included Susan Jeffers and poet Nikki Giovanni.
The festival begins Saturday, Sept. 5, and ends Sunday, Sept. 6.
For more information, visit www.charlotteliteraryfestival.org.
