HELENA — If your weekend is yet to be booked, businesses around Montana are celebrating Independent Bookstores Day on Saturday, like Montana Book Company.
"It really is a personal experience when people come in," said Chelsia Rice.
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She co-owns Montana Book Company with her partner and says they get thousands of visitors every year - whether they are regulars, locals, or people passing through.
Rice said, "Bookstores are a little snapshot of a community, no matter where you go."
The 12th annual Independent Book Store Day is on Saturday, celebrating local stores around the United States.
Festivities for Montana Book Co. include exclusive items for purchase, giveaways, youth and adult author signings, and freebies.
There will also be a golden ticket hunt, where one ticket is hidden around the store and the person who finds it will receive 12 free audiobook credits.
"It will be visible," said Rice. "You won't have to be digging for it."
Montana Book Co. will also have lots of yummy treats to fuel your finds, like Habana 406 Food Truck, cookies from Dear Potato, and cotton candy made by the Holter Museum of Art's After-School Teen Art Council.
Rice says independent bookstores provide customers with something that shopping online cannot.
"Algorithms can look backward but can't look forward," she said. "We can say, 'Hey, you really loved this book by Torrey Peters; she has one coming out in the fall. I read it [and] you're going to love it.'"
She also says bookstores connect people from all walks of life.
"People come in here after they've experienced death, when they've been diagnosed with cancer, when they're celebrating a birthday, when somebody's getting married, they come in here to buy a card," said Rice. "Sometimes [they come in] just to seek solace by walking through the books, pensively looking at things."
You can find other participating locations here.
