TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — Thousands of people enjoy the Tucson Festival of Books each year. This year there’s a new requirement if you go to the indoors parts of the festival. A security change could affect how you carry your books.
By this weekend a small city of tents on the UA Mall will be filled with books and people who love them.
Something new has been added this year in the name of safety. If you’re going to any of the indoor events, regular bags, backpacks and purses are forbidden. Instead they’ll expect you to bring a clear bag.
The Tucson Festival of Books has become one of the biggest events of its type. It could easily bring 120 or 130 thousand people to the U of A campus this weekend.
Tote bags are treasured there. The better the bag, the more books you bring home.
But now to bring a bag to everything the festival has to offer, the bag had better be clear and no larger than 12 inches by 12 inches by 6 inches.
“We don't want anybody to be surprised. You know, we get more and more used to this, as whenever we attend crowded events, and this is the first time, for the festival that we're doing it. So we appreciate in advance everybody's adaptation to the change.”
Festival director Abra McAndrew says the U of A mall is regarded as a public space so the clear bag rule is not enforced there, but clear bags are required at indoor events where many authors speak in U of A auditoriums and classrooms.
The U of A Office of Public Safety already required clear bags at crowd magnets like sports events. Now it’s applying the rule to make the book festival safer.
Patricia Yost is visiting Tucson, and planning to go to the book festival. She is not going to let a rule about bags keep her from seeing her favorite authors.
“I don't have a problem with it at all. I think it's smart to do things like that. I'm a retired school teacher, and security is always something that we had to keep in mind at schools, obviously.”
If you don’t have a clear bag you are not automatically out of luck. Abra McAndrew says some exhibitors like C-Span will have clear bags to give away, and there will be places to buy a see through tote.
To help plan your visit, have easier parking, and be sure you don't miss scheduled events she suggests downloading the phone app for Tucson Festival of Books, and the UA Safecats app.
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Craig Smith is a reporter for KGUN 9. With more than 40 years of reporting in cities like Tampa, Houston and Austin, Craig has covered more than 40 Space Shuttle launches and covered historic hurricanes like Katrina, Ivan, Andrew and Hugo. Share your story ideas and important issues with Craig by emailing craig.smith@kgun9.com or by connecting on Facebook and Twitter.
