Kaohsiung: The 2025 Kaohsiung Reading Festival kicked off 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.

According to Focus Taiwan, at the festival’s opening, Kaohsiung Public Library Director Lee Chin-yang announced that this year’s event will feature several outstanding speakers and interdisciplinary creators who will participate in activities designed to create “a multi-sensory reading experience” beyond literature.

The festival’s book fair, located on the library’s ground floor, gathers 100 book publishers and independent bookstores from across Taiwan. Craft workshops and talks will be held in conjunction with the book fair on weekends, as detailed on the event’s website.

Visitors will have the opportunity to explore themed exhibitions on topics ranging from migration and children’s rights to the Grimms’ Fairy Tales and Hakka literature, as mentioned on the event’s website.

Lectures are scheduled to be delivered by Taiwanese and international speakers, including writers, artists, and cultural practitioners, offering a wide array of perspectives.

Special events at the festival also include library stamp rallies, storytelling, and live performances by singers, bands, and Taiwanese opera troupes, according to the event’s website.

In a unique initiative, toy company LEGO has donated 1,000 LEGO kits to children from remote townships in Kaohsiung during the festival’s opening event as part of its “Build to Give” charity campaign in collaboration with the festival.

The Kaohsiung Reading Festival runs from Saturday to November 30.