The Book Dragon celebrates 3rd anniversary

STAUNTON, Va. (WHSV) - The Book Dragon in Staunton celebrated its third anniversary this weekend.

Comic book authors, thriller writers, and characters from Star Wars storm troopers all came out for the occasion.

“The community has been really great and so have our other supporters who don’t even live in this state. They’ve been really wonderful,” Sandi Cararo, owner of The Book Dragon said.

Nine months after The Book Dragon opened, COVID hit.

“There was some panic in the beginning, obviously, and then we learned to pivot,” Cararo said.

Cararo said they spent the next six months getting to know the community and what they wanted and needed from a local book store so they could curate what they carried to its customers.

She said they added more gift items, many from local small female-owned businesses.

“We’re finally starting to do some in-person events, we’re working with publishers to bring some other authors that will be here hopefully starting in the fall and in the winter,” Cararo said.

As local book stores across the country start to lessen, Cararo said having local book stores is important because of the personalized experience they can give readers.

“If you come in and you ask us, you know, ‘hey, I’m looking for something to read this weekend. I need it to be light and funny...’ you can walk into a book store, and we’ll have a minimum of five books to choose,” Cararo said.

Cararo said they ship all over the world, and she often has people email her needing a specific gift, and she is able to provide that whether it be from The Book Dragon or another independent book store.

As The Book Dragon celebrates their third year in business, Cararo is looking forward to the coming year and events already planned with author appearances and bringing in more books.

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