Books in Bloom Festival | Literary Legends Knoxville

Join Literary Legends Knoxville for Books in Bloom, a spring book festival celebrating books, creativity, and community.
About this Event
Books in Bloom: A Spring Book Festival

May 15 | 11:00 AM to 5:00 PM
Hardin Valley Event Center
Presented by Literary Legends Knoxville

Join Literary Legends Knoxville for Books in Bloom, a spring book festival celebrating books, creativity, and community. Explore 75+ authors and vendors, meet fellow readers, and enjoy a day of shopping, author conversations, and activities for all ages.

The festival will feature food trucks, a dirty soda and coffee bar, and a wine bar, along with opportunities to discover new books, support authors, and spend time with friends and family.

Festival Activities

The Secret Garden Scavenger Hunt
Follow clues, solve the secret phrase, and collect a prize. Explore the festival as you work your way through this bookish scavenger hunt.

Pressed Flower Bookmark Bar
Create your own floral bookmark with pressed flowers and ribbon, a keepsake to tuck into your next read.

The Reading Garden
Take a break, settle in with a book, and enjoy short live readings from authors.

Little Bookworms Corner
Young readers can paint flowerpots, plant a seed, and choose a donated book. Children’s storytime will also be part of the day’s activities.

Spring Shelf Refresh
Bring a book to swap and find something new for your shelves. Separate book donations will support the Fill the Shelves Initiative, helping make books more accessible in our community.

Plant Bingo
Join a round of plant bingo and take home a new plant. Free to play!

Author Panels
Hear from authors, join the conversation, and connect with the writers behind the stories.

Book Bouquet & Flower Bar
Turn your book into a bouquet with flowers and ribbon. Create a bookish arrangement to give as a gift or keep for yourself.

Whether you are looking for your next favorite book, planning a day out with friends, or bringing the family for spring activities, we look forward to welcoming you to Books in Bloom.

Agenda

🕑: 11:00 AM
Doors Open
Host: Literary Legends

Info: Welcome & Opening Remarks on Lawn
Vendor Marketplace Opens
Author Signing Tables Open

🕑: 11:00 AM - 05:00 PM
ALL DAY EVENTS

Info: Author Signings, Vendor Marketplace ,Independent Author Alley, Book Swap Station, Photo Booth, Bookish Bingo Card Challenges, Reading Recommendations Wall, Literary Costume Contest Voting, Community Reading Pledge Board

🕑: 11:00 AM - 05:00 PM
BOOK DRIVE

Info: Please stop by the book drive drop-off location to pick up your raffle tickets!

Every book donated helps make a difference. The books collected through our drives go to a variety of places, helping put books into the hands of parents, teachers, and children who need them most. Donations may support Free Little Libraries, help replenish libraries after natural disasters, or provide reading materials to communities with limited access to books.

We're also working toward an exciting goal: launching a Bookmobile that can travel directly to underserved communities and bring books to those in need.

Thank you for supporting literacy, education, and access to books for everyone. Your donations help create opportunities for learning and inspire a lifelong love of reading.

Donate a book, pick up your raffle tickets, and help us bring more stories to more people! ❤️

🕑: 04:30 PM - 05:00 PM
Festival Finale, Prize Drawings & Closing Remarks
Kid's Corner

🕑: 11:00 AM - 05:00 PM
Kids’ Flowerpot Decorating & Seed Planting (ALL DAY)

Info: Visit the Little Bookworms Corner for a spring activity that lets children create something of their own and watch it grow. Kids can decorate a flowerpot with their favorite colors and designs, then fill it with soil and plant their very own seed.

Each child can take their finished pot home to water, care for, and watch for the first sprout. It’s a hands-on introduction to gardening that encourages creativity, curiosity, and a little patience as something new begins to grow.

Each child will create a custom bookmark to take home and use in their next favorite book.

Story Time 1, 2 & 3 (TBA)
Games & Drawings

🕑: 11:00 AM - 05:00 PM
The Secret Garden Scavenger Hunt (ALL DAY)

Info: Join us for a fun round of bookish bingo during the festival! Guests can grab a bingo card, play along, and mark off book-themed spaces for a chance to win prizes.

This is an easy, laid-back activity for readers who love books, prizes, and a little friendly competition.

🕑: 11:00 AM - 05:00 PM
Book Donation and Raffle Drawings (ALL DAY)

Info: Bring new or gently used books to donate to our book drive and receive raffle tickets for a chance to win festival prizes!

Raffle Ticket Breakdown:

1 book = 1 raffle ticket
3 books = 4 raffle tickets
5 books = 7 raffle tickets
10 books = 15 raffle tickets
20+ books or one full box = 25 raffle tickets

Raffle tickets will be capped at 25 tickets per person to keep the drawing fair and easy to manage.

The more books you bring, the more stories we can share with local readers, families, teachers, classrooms, and future community literacy projects.

We are accepting children’s books, middle grade, young adult, adult fiction, nonfiction, and classroom-friendly books.

Bring a book. Get a ticket. Help us share the love of reading. ✨

🕑: 02:30 PM - 03:15 PM
Plant Bingo | Free to Play

Info: Join us for a game of traditional bingo with plants as the prizes! Pick up a bingo card, grab a seat, and mark your numbers as they are called. We’ll explain the rules and announce the winning pattern before each round. When you complete the pattern, call out “Bingo!” Once your card is checked, you could be heading home with a new plant.

Whether you have a house full of greenery or are hoping to bring home your very first plant, everyone is welcome to join. Take a break from browsing the festival, meet fellow book and plant lovers, and play for a chance to add something new to your collection.

Plant Bingo is completely free to play, with bingo supplies provided. No experience is necessary. Plants are awarded as bingo prizes, so taking one home depends on winning a round.

Adult Crafts ($)

🕑: 11:00 AM - 05:00 PM
Pressed Flower Bookmark Bar | $5 per bookmark

Info: Create your own floral bookmark using real pressed flowers and ribbon. Choose your flowers, arrange them inside a clear bookmark, and finish your design with a ribbon in your favorite color.

Make a keepsake for your next read or a thoughtful gift for a fellow book lover. This is a simple, creative activity you can enjoy while taking a break from exploring the festival.

The price includes all materials to create one finished bookmark to take home.

🕑: 11:00 AM - 04:30 PM
Book Bouquet & Flower Bar | $25 per bouquet

Info: Turn your next read into a beautiful book bouquet. Bring a favorite book from home or purchase a new read from one of our festival authors, then visit the flower bar to create something special.

Choose your fresh flowers and greenery, and our volunteers will work alongside you to help arrange them around your book. Together, you’ll finish your bouquet with decorative wrapping and ribbon, ready to give as a thoughtful gift or take home for yourself. No flower-arranging experience is needed.

The price includes 10 fresh flower stems, greenery, bouquet wrapping, ribbon, and help from our volunteers. A book is not included; please bring your own or purchase one separately at the festival.

Author Panels
TBA