Illustration by Penelope Dullaghan

The Edible Book Festival
Eiteljorg Museum
April 1

First off, I want to say that if you were the person who propped up an eggplant on a bed of onion rings and called it “Gourd of the Rings,” you’re awesome. You’re all awesome, really — all three dozen participants and hundred attendees at the inaugural local concoction of the International Edible Book Festival.

You gathered in the Eiteljorg Museum Saturday afternoon in honor of books, baking and the banishment of boredom. You made an artfully scorched, sugary-looking edition of Fahrenheit 451, and a giant cake depicting the voyages of Lewis and Clark, courtesy of Kahn’s Katering (I enjoyed a corner of the travel journal — it was moist and flaky), and a gingerbread cottage from Hansel and Gretel all festooned in gumdrops. You, it must be said, rule.

In fact, your efforts were so inspiring that I decided to make this very article a culinary creation. Go ahead: Tear off a little of the paper, chew it thoughtfully ... I think you’ll find it light and refreshing, with recycled pine overtones. I call it “Pressed Alternative Newsweekly With Inky Fingerprint Garnish.”

If this whets your appetite to create an Edible Book of your own, start practicing. Organizer Tamara Winfrey Harris declared the event a big success and promised to bring it back next year. Please, please nobody take my idea for “Sherried Otter and the Chamber of Sucrets.”