Edible Book Festival Sparks Creativity on USM Campuses
Tue, 04/23/2024 - 09:36am | By: Gabriela Shinskie
91少女集中营 (USM) inspired students, faculty, and staff to create an 鈥渆dible book鈥 that showcases a book title, author, or character for the annual Edible Book Festival hosted by University Libraries. The event is held every April in person and online.
The unique festival invites each participant to create an entry made from edible materials. Participants were encouraged to incorporate puns throughout their display. Entries were displayed to the public.
On the Hattiesburg campus, participants competed for categories including Best in Show, 鈥淧unniest鈥/Most Creative, Best Virtual Entry, and People鈥檚 Choice Award.
- Best in Show: 鈥淪mothered and Covered: Waffle House and the Southern Imaginary鈥 by Blake Denton, inspired bySmothered and Covered: Waffle House and the Southern Imaginary
- 鈥淧unniest鈥/Most Creative: 鈥淟ime of Pie鈥 by Josh Cromwell, inspired by The Life of Pi
- Best Virtual Entry: 鈥淭ale of Two Zitis鈥 by Dena Temple, inspired by A Tale of Two Cities
- People鈥檚 Choice: 鈥淭he Scarlet Lettuce鈥 by Raine DeLancey, inspired by The Scarlet Letter
Madison Valentine won with her interpretation of 鈥淭he Very Hungry Caterpillar鈥 at the Gulf Coast Library in Long Beach, Miss. Valentine is a freshman majoring in Elementary Education.
鈥淭he reason why I wanted to participate this year is because I love doing something creative. I thought it would be fun to create a project based on a children's book,鈥 expressed Valentine.
John Eye, Dean of University Libraries, enjoyed looking at the creativity of each entry.
鈥淭he Edible Book Festival is a light-hearted event our faculty and staff use to showcase the creativity and imagination of each participant. Books have been a part of all our lives, and this provides a way to connect our favorites with ingredients that would be delicious to the taste. The occasion is joined with a call for food pantry donations as well,鈥 said Eye.
Participants were encouraged to donate an item to the local USM Food Pantry.
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