FREE Events & Programming

We want our local community to enjoy all that SVWC has to offer, which is why we have opened up select Pavilion Talks for FREE seating on the lawn of the Sun Valley Pavilion. Bring a picnic, blanket, and low-back chair and join us July 20-22 to hear from some of our country’s most inspiring minds.

Select presentations will be broadcast live to the large jumbotron on the Pavilion lawn. Seating is available on a first-come, first-served basis—no ticketing or registration is required. You can browse our Bookstore Tent to purchase books by each author and join us for book signings following the talk.

If you would prefer to watch the talk from inside the Sun Valley Pavilion, we have single event tickets available (SOLD OUT for 2024). We recommend signing up for our email newsletter to receive important updates and information about these events.

For a complete schedule and more details, visit svwc.com/free-lawn-talks.

SVWC is partnering with The Community Library to host free lectures for the local community throughout the year, with two speakers bookending this year’s Sun Valley Writers’ Conference —Judy Blume on July 17 and John Vaillant on July 23. Both talks will be held at 5:30pm at The Community Library.

In-person registration is full for both talks, but you can join the waitlist or livestream the talks from home. Visit svwc.com/community-speaker-series for more details.

Photo credit: Barbi Reed

Can’t join us in person? No problem—you can livestream select talks from the Sun Valley Writers’ Conference from anywhere in the world. You don’t have to leave your home to enjoy presentations by some of the country’s—and the world’s—best writers and thinkers. Free virtual talks will take place July 20-22, 2024. Registration required.

For more details and information, including talks available for livestreaming and how to register, visit svwc.com/livestream. Check back regularly as we add new talks.

Did you know that we have a free digital media library on our website? Everything from our Beyond the Page podcasts and SVWC audio and video recordings to some of the most popular Pavilion Talks throughout the years. You can experience all the best of SVWC at your leisure—anytime, anywhere.

Explore the entire SVWC digital media library at svw.com/media.

We invite local Wood River Valley students, teachers and library staff to attend Pavilion Talks for free! We have limited seating inside the Sun Valley Pavilion. If talks are at capacity, we may not be able to accommodate everyone, but you are welcome to enjoy the talks from the lawn.

Check in at the Bookstore Tent’s Info Desk on the Sun Valley Pavilion Lawn 30 minutes prior to each talk to check availability and get your pass. Please bring proof of identification in the form of a school or library ID.

View the full schedule of available Pavilion Talks, visit our Schedule & Program page, and filter by “Pavilion Talk.”