Wayzgoose weekend coming up for book lovers

This year’s annual Gaspereau Press Wayzgoose will feature two special guests in Kentville Oct. 24.

Wood engraver and letterpress publisher Wesley Bates of Clifford, Ontario and Jim Rimmer, an illustrator, letterpress printer and typefounder from New Westminster, B.C. are included in the weekend’s line-up.

Wayzgoose will also include workshops, a shop talk, open house, printing demonstrations, evening lectures, music and author readings from some of Gaspereau’s 2008 titles. With the exception of the book arts workshops, all events are free and open to the public.

Traditionally, a wayzgoose is an annual supper hosted by the proprietors of a printing establishment for their employees. Dating back to 17th Century England, the menu item of choice was the wayz- (or stubble-) fed goose. These days, says Emily Leeson, the word is used to describe gatherings of book artists.

“At Gaspereau Press, we’ve made our wayzgoose a much more public event, one designed to increase community awareness about the book arts by bringing artists, writers and readers face-to-face with the people and the tools of the trade: type, ink, paper and the printing press.”

What’s on

• Friday, Oct. 24 - reading from 7 p.m. to 11 p.m. at the Kentville Rec Centre with Karen Houle, Ami McKay, Johanna Skibsrud. Music by John Kavanagh. Admission free.

• Saturday, Oct. 25 - book arts workshops in book binding (already full), paper-marbling workshops. 9 a.m. to noon. Pre-registration required.

• Saturday, Oct. 25 - Fiction for Breakfast, Paddy’s Pub, Kentville, 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. Breakfast and talk books with novelists Ven Begamudré, Andrew Steinmetz and Ami McKay. Host: writer Susan Haley.

• Saturday, Oct. 25 - Shop Talk at the Gaspereau Press Printing Works with Wesley Bates and Jim Rimmer. Drop in and putter around in the print shop, 10 a.m. to noon. The popular off-cut paper sale will also be in its early hours. The open house continues from 3:30 p.m. to 5 p.m.

• Saturday, Oct. 25 - afternoon reading at the Kentville Rec Centre, 1:30 p.m., with Ven Begamudré, Andrew Steinmetz and Kent Thompson.

• Saturday, Oct. 25 - Slide talks by Bates (on the history of wood engraving) and Rimmer (on printing and typefounding), 7 p.m. at the Kentville Rec Centre.

• Sunday, Oct. 26 - Morning Nature Walk, 10 a.m., on Kentville's wild side with Soren Bondrup-Nielsen and Merritt Gibson (weather permitting. Meeting spot to be announced).