2025 Kaohsiung Reading Festival opens; over 100 events planned

Kaohsiung, Nov. 15 (CNA) The 2025 Kaohsiung Reading Festival kicked off Saturday at the Kaohsiung Public Library and will feature over 100 events including exhibitions, lectures and live performances on weekends until the end of the month.

At the festival's opening, Kaohsiung Public Library Director Lee Chin-yang (李金鴦) said this year's event features several outstanding speakers and interdisciplinary creators who will be part of activities that create "a multi-sensory reading experience" beyond literature.

The festival's book fair on the library's ground floor brings together 100 book publishers and independent book stores from around Taiwan, with craft workshops and talks held in conjunction with the book fair on the weekends, according to the event's website.

Visitors can also enjoy diverse themed exhibitions covering everything from migration and children's rights to the Grimms' Fairy Tales and Hakka literature, the event's website said.

Lectures will be held by Taiwanese and international speakers, writers, artists, and cultural practitioners.

Other special events include library stamp rallies, storytelling, and live performances by singers, bands and Taiwanese opera troupes, according to the event's website.

Additionally, toy company LEGO donated 1,000 LEGO kits to children from remote townships in Kaohsiung on the festival's opening event Saturday as part of its "Build to Give" charity campaign in conjunction with the festival.

The Kaohsiung Reading Festival runs from Saturday to Nov. 30.