- Gabby Bunnell
- Jul 24
- 2 min read
15,363 Books: Book Harvest’s Biggest Block Party Yet
15,363 books.
3 hours.
Over the course of this year's Summer Block Party, 3,500+ attendees harvested 85 books per minute. In terms of total books harvested, that's a 56.4% increase from last year! And it all happened right at Durham Central Park, amidst music, games, food, and joyful community.
Here at Book Harvest, we’re still processing these numbers – despite the heat and humidity, our community showed up for books. Staff members have reflected throughout the week on how meaningful it was to see our vision of book abundance in its most tangible and wonder-inspiring form. Stacked half an inch per book, the books at Durham Central Park on Saturday would have been more than twice the height of the Statue of Liberty – and each and every one went home with a child on Saturday!
Highlights of this historic event include:
Over 3,500 attendees!
15,363 children's books harvested by children and families to take home and keep forever
93 amazing volunteers who set up the event in just two hours (!) and consistently managed every book station throughout the afternoon
40+ community partners who lined Foster Street with hands-on fun and family resources — including the Museum of Life and Science (and their very popular tarantula), Rootle PBS KIDS, and The City of Durham
Appearances from RadioOne, Clifford the Big Red Dog, The Poetry Fox, and the Triangle Calligraphers Guild, who beautifully wrote children’s names in their new books!
At one point during the event, two staff members found themselves observing a scene that captured the spirit of the day: three children, one still in a stroller, two plopped right on the ground, completely absorbed in their new books. All around them, the Block Party carried on — music, laughter, thousands of people in motion — but none of it mattered. They had stories to discover.
Ginger Young, our Founder and CEO, put it beautifully in a reflection to staff after the event:
“Because this is what we know, even when the larger world sometimes forgets it. Children are hungry for stories. They long for connection, for imagination, for the experience that books make possible. Given books, kids don't have to be persuaded to read. They reach for books naturally, joyfully, eagerly.”
Thank you for the generous support from the City of Durham, EEV/Gardner Media, and Two Men and A Truck!
Thank you to every volunteer, Book Harvest team member, and family who made Saturday so special. You can read the final report here and check out our photo gallery from the event below. We already can’t wait for next year!
