Book and art collectors are invited to the Collectible Books & Fine Art Festival. The event is to benefit The Cooperative Ministry. It's this Saturday, Aug. 24, 8 am to 2 pm at the historic Seibels House in Columbia.

Books will be focused primarily on the South. They will include 350 books from the collection of Walter Edgar. An equal number are from the collection of David Hodges. Other collectors and dealers are donating collectible books about the South. This year’s festival will also include fine art for sale by local artists. The local artists featured include Edmund Yahgjian, Suzy Farrell, Henry Foster, Michael Krajewski, Tim Floyd, Steven Whetstone, Lucas Sams, Craig Houston, Tim Able.

Adding to this year’s festival will be food provided by The Happy Café. There will also be author talks throughout the day. Talks will be given by Festival Chairman David Hodges, a Columbia book collector; author Lee Brockington of Georgetown; author John Sherrer, director of cultural resources, Historic Columbia; and, author Scott Vaughan, director of community awareness, The Cooperative Ministry. There will be a speaker every 30 minutes, beginning at 9 am.

Proceeds from the event benefit The Cooperative Ministry. For 37 years The Cooperative Ministry has served the Midlands' working poor and those in crisis. Annually, The Cooperative Ministry helps an average of 12,500 people with short-term crisis assistance and long-term sustainability services. For more information, please visit www.coopmin.org.