Annual Flannery O’Connor Birthday and Street Party celebration returns Sunday

On Sunday, the annual Flannery O’Connor Birthday and Street party returns to Lafayette Square From 1-4 p.m.

On the corner of Abercorn and Charlton streets, partygoers can meet local authors, enjoy live music by the Sweet Thunder Band, and view a pop-up art show by Panhandle Slim. Cake in honor of beloved novelist Flannery O’Connor’s 97th birthday will also be available.

The party is hosted by The Flannery O’Connor Childhood Home Board of Directors in conjunction with Savannah Local Author Day and sponsored by The Book Lady Bookstore.

It’s been three years since the last O’Connor celebration. “... People seem to be very excited that [the event] is coming back,” says Meaghan Walsh Gerard, Flannery O'Connor Childhood Home board president.

“The Board is also excited. We definitely felt like we were sort of exercising muscles that we haven’t used for a little bit. Getting everything together again this year was exciting [to do].”

Over 40 authors from the Savannah area and nearby will be attendance, including Jessica Leigh Lebos, author of “Savannah Sideways”, “Still Water Words: Stories from Ancestral Places” author Patricia West, as well as the Savannah Morning News’ own Amy Paige Condon, author of “A Nervous Man Shouldn’t Be Here in the First Place: The Life of Bill Baggs”.

O’Connor’s birthday celebration will commence with a blessing by Father Michael Cheney. Partygoers are encouraged to dress in O’Connor-inspired outfits, carry handmade signs, and enjoy all the festivities.

The first floor of the novelist’s childhood home will also be open for visitors to walk through. Masks are required for non-vaccinated patrons while in the building.