the washington post
wednesday, august
28
,
2019
EZ
6
When is the festival and how
do I get there?
The Library of Congress Nation-
al Book Festival takes place Satur-
day, Aug. 31, at the Walter E.
Washington Convention Center.
Doors open at 8:30 a.m. with
events lasting until 8 p.m. There
are four entrances: one on the
corner of Seventh and M streets
NW, one at Mount Vernon Square
and two on L Street NW.
How do I get tickets?
There aren’t any. This is all free.
(I know: Can you believe it!?)
Where do I park?
There’s metered street parking
nearby and no shortage of lots in
the neighborhood, though they can
be pricey. Metro is a great alterna-
tive, given that the festival is near
the Mount Vernon Square Metro
station, which is on the Green and
Yellow Lines, and a half-mile walk
(or scooter ride) from the Metro
Center station, which gives you
access to the Blue, Orange, Silver
and Red Lines. The festival is also
on a number of bus lines and close
to Capital Bikeshare docking sta-
tions.
Where should I eat?
Good food options abound near
the convention center, though
there’s also food and coffee at the
festival in various locations, in-
cluding the lower level. To keep
your energy up, stop by La Co-
lombe Coffee (924 Blagden Alley
NW) or Compass Coffee (655 New
York Ave. NW) for caffeine and
pastries on your way to the festival
— both are within a couple blocks
of the festival. For your fast casual
needs, salads at Sweetgreen (1065
Fifth St. NW) and vegan tacos at
How to book you
Tips on navigating
the events, keeping
yourself fueled and
making the most of
your festival
experience.
How heartening is the National Book Festival? Each stagi
the readers who love them draws hundreds of thousands of
that many, many people still love to read. (Take that, Netfli
have is one measly day with nearly 150 authors to see, which
Only you can decide. But we can at least help answer your lo
ILLUSTRATIONS BY ADRIANA PICKER
FOR THE WASHINGTON POST