OGDEN — An event seeking to provide avid readers with a unique and relaxing setting for engaging in the hobby while also fostering a love of the activity within new readers will make its debut this month.

“Under the Covers: A Fall Reading Festival” will emanate from Ogden’s Fort Buenaventura on Sept. 29 from 4-7 p.m.

Tickets for the all-ages event are currently on sale at bit.ly/FallRead2024 for $10; children ages 16 and under will be admitted for free.

Kassie Harbath, one of the event’s organizers, believes that dedicating “mindful time” to reading can be of significant benefit to people’s lives. However, phone screens and social media can prevent one from making that time.

“I think it’s hard for people to have a focus and to be able to spend time reading because their minds are distracted,” Harbath told the Standard-Examiner. “There are so many things going on in our lives that it can take you away from that reading.”

Joining Harbath in organizing the event are other local book enthusiasts and nature lovers, including Happy Magpie Book & Quill proprietor Patrick Ramsay. It’s their hope that this event can remove some of those distractions.

In addition to the group reading that will occur, there will also be a guided breathwork and meditation session, as well as open mic time for the sharing of poetry, short stories and book excerpts.

Although everyone is welcome to attend, Harbath noted that the event has jokingly been referred to as an “introvert’s dream.”

“I think we all want to connect with people and we want to be around people, but that doesn’t necessarily mean socializing,” she said.

“It’s almost like the concept of going to, say, a coffee shop and reading your book there, where you want to be surrounded by people but not necessarily having to strike up a conversation. … Also, maybe having a book would act as something that you could talk about and have a discussion with people.”

Harbath is encouraging those who aren’t natural readers or perhaps don’t believe there’s anything out there for them to not completely discount the hobby.

“I think we all think of the books that we were forced to read in school and that’s what we’re used to,” she said. “But I think there’s a book for everybody.”