For an impressive 45th year, the St. Louis JCC will be hosting the nationally recognized, annual St. Louis Jewish Book Festival. With more than 10,000 participants, it’s one of the largest book festivals in the country. Creating an annual, anticipated tradition often isn’t the goal when introducing new events, but it can substantially benefit your rec center when it does happen by bringing in new members every year.
“We enjoy serving our ‘core’ audience as we enjoy welcoming new faces to our spaces,” said Hannah Dinkel, the director of literary arts at the St. Louis JCC. “The new faces do not stay that way for long. Our hardcore patrons who come to more than four or five programs grows yearly.”
Consistency is Key
Consistency in multiple facets was vital in making this event as popular as it has become. The JCC still markets the book fair every year to attract new visitors from all over the country, even when there are enough people who come to the festival every year. Consistency of excellence is perhaps the main reason the tradition continues, but it’s also a great challenge for Dinkel.
“I get questions about next year’s lineup during the current festival season because our audience knows year after year what excellent offerings they have in store for them,” said Dinkel. “The outstanding reputation behind our festival is reinforced each year due to the dedication employed in carrying out the J’s mission to create programing that creates community. This happens not only with the support of staff, but with the capable, caring hands, minds and hearts of our large volunteer planning committee. This ensures the quality of the programs and authors is fitting to the prestige behind the J and the festival.”
Excellence to Create Community
Having such a large event isn’t always feasible in its first iteration. The festival has exponentially grown in its 45 years. This year, there are more than 20 featured authors. Their genres range from religion, mystery, memoirs and more. The festival will also have themed nights including Women’s Night, Sports Night and Cookbook Night which are extremely popular.
The variety makes the event more accessible and makes it something the whole community looks forward to. Part of the purpose of the event is to share Jewish voices in literature, but the festival is marketed to all.
“The mission of the event aligns with the J’s mission to enrich lives, build community, promote inclusivity and create meaningful Jewish experiences” explained Dinkel. “We amplify contemporary Jewish voices in the written medium and promote literacy and lifelong learning for St. Louis’ booklovers and intellects. Although the themes and topics evolve over the years based on communal interests and current events, the mission and the ‘why’ behind our festival — one of the largest in the nation — has very much stayed the same.”
Having a clear purpose for unifies expectations for staff, volunteers and participants. The universal fun and interest fuel the anticipation for the event every year. Building such a prestigious and popular annual tradition is not easy, but it is extremely rewarding for both the community and the St. Louis JCC.
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