...And on the West Coast

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Nobel Peace Prize winner Rigoberto Menchú is the big draw for Feria del Libro, Los Angeles’ fifth annual family book fair to be held Saturday beginning at 10 a.m. on the south lawn of City Hall.

Menchú, a presidential candidate in her native Guatemala, will appear on the main stage at noon, following opening ceremonies at 11 a.m. with Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and Los Angeles Unified Supt. David L. Brewer.

The event, which drew an estimated 15,000 people last year, is primarily aimed at Latino families, as the lineup of authors suggests: José-Luis Orozco (‘Rin, Rin, Rin...Do, Re, Mi’); Max Benavidez (‘Maria De Flor/a Day of the Dead Story’); Amada Irma Perez (‘My Diary From Here to There’); Rene Colato Lainez (‘I Am René, the Boy/Soy René, el Nino’); and Jorge Argueta (‘A Movie in My Pillow’).

But Henry ‘The Fonz’ Winkler will also be reading from his ‘Hank Zipzer’ books, including his latest, ‘The Curtain Went Up, My Pants Fell Down,’ as will Ogo Okoye-Johnson (‘Oma, the Faithful Daughter’) and Caroline Arnold (‘Taj Mahal,’ ‘A Panda’s World’).

The Feria del Libro began as an effort to increase reading, especially among youngsters, in Boyle Heights, an area with limited access to bookstores and libraries, according to festival organizers. A highlight of the event is the awarding of $25,000 to winners of the Million Word Challenge, a countywide school program to recognize voracious young readers.

For more information, go to Feria del Libro’s website.

The streets immediately surrounding City Hall and 1st, 2nd, Spring, Main and Temple streets, will be closed to vehicular traffic.

Kristina Lindgren