Festival 'raises spirits and vocabulary'

By Marilyn Rosenthal
MILFORD — What do you get when you mix readers, writers, and great conversation with dedicated fans and high-energy volunteers?
It would probably look a lot like the May 13 fundraising launch party for the second annual Milford Readers and Writers Festival, held in the bucolic setting of Rebecca and Richard Lindsay's home.
This year, the organizers have formalized their production under the auspices of a 501c3 not-for-profit organization, called Pike Artworks. This is the umbrella organization for the Readers and Writers Festival, which will now be an annual event. The officers are:
Edson Whitney, Chair
Amy Ferris, Vice Chair
Barbara Zappile, Secretary
Michael Trenner, Treasurer
Barbara de Vries, Creative Director
Other board members are:
Roland Edwards Jr.
Robert Levine
Lillian Longendorfer
Sean Strub
Diana Wiener
At the launch, organizers announced some of the events for this year's festival, to be held from Sept. 15 to 17. For a peek at some of what's to come, please see sidebar.
Sean Strub played auctioneer and energized the crowd. Checkbooks seemed to be flying out of pockets and purses.
One couple won a framed poster from last year's festival and then turned around and donated it back so it could be auctioned off again. The other auctioned-off item was two box seats at the 2017 U.S. Open.
Little town, big ideasLast year's festival was the first of its kind for Milford. And while it was put together in a short time, thanks to the true grit of its founders — Amy Ferris, Robert Levine, Suzanne Braun Levine, and Sean Strub — it was fantastically successful.
On the main stage last year were Gloria Steinem, John Berendt, and MK Asante. The world came to Milford, and Milford responded with excitement that it could offer such a potpourri of workshops and famous authors.
Amy Ferris explained why people are so enthusiastic about the Festival when she described what she sees as its purpose.
"The purpose is to bring the written word out into the world, to show the irrefutable power of writing and reading, because both can save a life or two or three, when you hear your favorite author speaking, sharing their stories, talking about how the characters were created, how a sentence was formed — it brings a different life to the work. Authors are rock stars. When we curl up with a book at night, it's a magical thing. It enriches and ignites our imagination. Bringing the Readers and Writers Festival to Milford is wonderful in every way — community wise, culturally, creatively, spiritually. It has lifted our spirits, along with our vocabulary."