4 Things to Know Before Attending the Cross-Cultural Center Book Fair

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• Jen Jordan - [email protected]

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Imagine this: You're walking into your elementary school's Scholastic Book Fair for the first time. Tables laden with books line the walls and, with your allowance in hand, you have free rein to choose whatever speaks to you. The world - of books - is your oyster.

UC San Diego's Cross-Cultural Center is hoping to replicate that feeling of discovery when it hosts the third annual Cross-Cultural Center Book Fair on Wednesday, May 13, 2026, from 1-6 p.m.

Grounded in the Center's PLACES philosophy - Promoting Critical and Respectful Dialogues, Leadership Development, Affirmation of Intersectional Identities, Critical and Respectful Dialogues, Community Building, Empowerment and Social Justice Framework - the event will feature books for sale from on-campus and local bookstores. Plenty of other activities, including a book swap with remaining books donated to San Diego-area nonprofits, are also on the slate.

Here's what you need to know before you go:

1. Come for the books, stay for the fun.

There will be plenty of books, but the fair is about much more than browsing. You will have the option to swap out old favorites at the book exchange, then get your tarot cards read, make a bookmark or eye mask, or pick up some book-themed temporary tattoos. There will also be workshops and author talks, including one with Indigenous Futures Institute Executive Director and author Chag Lowry. An open mic closes out the event.

2. There's a theme: "Dreaming the Futures We READ."

The first books we read as children can have a lasting impact. This year's theme connects the fair's activities, workshops and books around a single idea: our earliest memories of reading serve as the building blocks for our own identity development and community building, reminding us to dream as we did when we were kids and believe that just futures are possible.

3. You don't have to spend a dime.

This is one book fair you can attend without spending any money. Bring your favorite books or look for something new at the book exchange; any extra books will be donated to Reimagining Our Futures' community library and Books Thru Bars, which sends books and resources to people who are incarcerated. Local and on-campus bookstores like Quiet Quail, the UC San Diego Bookstore, Groundworks and Darkstar will be on site selling books. Student organizations such as the Triton Pokemon League will be selling Pokemon cards and art, and local artists like Salvador Rodriguez and zine publishers, including Digital Milk Collective, will also be in attendance. Be sure to fuel up with Thaiyo Cafe, who will be on site serving coffee and specialty drinks.

4. It benefits the whole community.

The book fair reflects something bigger than a single afternoon on campus. Izzy Narvaez, Assistant Director of Education and Training at UC San Diego's Cross-Cultural Center, sees it as an extension of the university's role as a force for good in the region, and hopes to one day expand the book fair so it becomes a regional event. "I really think deeply about the power of education," she says. "As a first-gen student, getting my degree at a UC has impacted my social mobility so much - and also that of my family. We're not only impacting our students, our staff and the folks who go here, but we are also positively impacting our local community."