They arrived for the authors. And some of them left with some new, hardcover books.
Despite overcast skies, the sidewalks of downtown Little Rock were overrun with streams of people attending the third day of the Arkansas Literary Festival, a four-day event featuring authors, illustrators and intellects.
Now in its 13th year, the festival drew writers and presenters from around the world who sat on the more than 65 panels for the event, which runs through today.
The head of the festival, Brad Mooy, said the event is designed to offer myriad literary and cultural attractions to attract a crowd of all ages.
"We really just try to present a wide slate, and we try not to repeat ourselves," Mooy said Saturday. "The children's library has a whole day of programming. ... I tried going to the witchcraft session, and I even couldn't get in, and it made me happy. It's a good problem to have."
Gina Kokes, a former chairman of the festival, was front and center at one of Saturday's first events, a presentation by acclaimed writer/historian Adam Hochschild, at the MacArthur Museum of Arkansas Military History. Hochschild's latest work, Spain In Our Hearts, uses a mix of research and interviews to tell about the experiences of Americans serving in the Spanish Civil War of the 1930s.
"It's just wonderful," Kokes said of the festival and its events. "Every one you go to, a lecture, and see the author ... it gives another dimension to the book."
She and her husband, Charles, learned about the often-overlooked role of 2,800 Americans who joined the Abraham Lincoln Brigade to combat the fascist Spanish coup that preceded the start of World War II in Europe.
Hochschild, whose 1998 King Leopold's Ghost was a national bestseller, introduced Saturday's audience to such Americans as a college wrestling coach from New York and a former Nevada college football player, who joined an ill-fated group of leftist factions fighting the German- and Italian-backed forces of dictator Francisco Franco.
"Fascism, sooner or later, threatened all countries," Hochschild said, quoting from interviews with former volunteers who survived the war. One said "for us, it wasn't Franco, it was always Hitler."
Of course, Saturday's events weren't solely focused on history.
The day's attractions included award-winning poets, barbecue and a visit from a dog-inspired photographer and blogger, Elias Weiss Friedman, known as "The Dogist."
Festival attendee Judy Lansky delighted in talking with journalist and author Mary Pilon, whose book The Monopolists tells the true story behind the iconic American board game.
Lansky of Little Rock said she's been going to the festival since its inception and that every year it seems bigger and exposes her to more authors, their works and the stories behind their works.
"The amount of work [the authors] had to do, the amount of research," she said. "It's incredible and amazing to me how much work they have to do."
Mooy said he hoped that some of the authors also found time to explore Arkansas.
"We want to show them Southern hospitality, and we want them to come back to Little Rock," Mooy said. "Many of [the authors] have never been to Little Rock before. Some have never been to the South before. We want to make their foray into Southern culture a good one."
Metro on 04/17/2016