Eduardo J. Padrón
President
Office of the President
300 N.E. Second Avenue
Miami, Florida 33132-2297
305-237-3316
epadron@mdc.edu
Message From the President
Monday, November 21, 2011
Book Fair Continues Tradition of Success, Unites Community of Literature Lovers
Miami Book Fair International proves once again that books bring people together and that our community’s love for the literary arts cannot be shaken by challenging economic times.
People of all ages poured in to take part in the cultural and educational activities that make the Book Fair one of the most popular arts events of the year. Just a few examples of the popularity of the Fair's activities include the more than 2,500 families who stood in line for more than five hours on Sunday to get their books autographed by Diary of a Wimpy Kid series author Jeff Kinney, and the more than 700 people who attended back-to-back author sessions in Wolfson Campus' Chapman Conference Center (one of just 14 Book Fair author-presentation areas) on Saturday and Sunday.
The College received a lot of positive feedback from the community and the media about our author lineup, the World Stage, China Pavilion, Children's Alley and Twilight Tastings, along with our newest Book Fair additions, such as the Miami Culinary Institute cooking demos and Literary Death Match. All of these events attracted new audiences who continue to build upon the Book Fair's 28-year tradition of success.
Of course, this year’s success would not have been possible without very dedicated volunteers, staff and sponsors; so, thank you to everyone who helped out. I would especially like to thank Wolfson Campus President Madeline Pumariega for her leadership, the executive director of the Center @ MDC, Alina Interián, who has been with the Book Fair for 22 years, and Delia López, director of operations for the Fair.
We can all be proud to be a part of the largest and finest literary gathering in the country.
Thank you.
Eduardo