April Fools Mysteries

The first of April, some do say,
Is set apart for All Fools' Day.
But why the people call it so,
Nor I, nor they themselves do know.
But on this day are people sent
On purpose for pure merriment.
Poor Robin's Almanac, 1790

April Fool's Day: San Francisco has a special St. Stupid's Day parade in which "fools" in various garb wander the streets in a very interactive parade. Being that I love holidays--any chance to celebrate, I did a little research on April Fool's Day Mysteries. It's a short list, but fun and full of foolishness and mystery.

April Fools’ Day Murder by Lee Harris
April Fool’s Day A Novel by Josip Novakovich (not quite a mystery but with mystery elements)
The New Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, Vol. 3: The April Fool’s Day Adventure and The Strange Adventure of the Uneasy Easy Chair by Anthony Boucher and Denis Green.
April Fool Dead by Carolyn Hart
The April Fool by Robert J. Fields

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Another bit of trivia: Berkeley, California, was incorporated on April Fools' Day, 1878. Why am I not surprised?
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I was working on my DyingforChocolate blog and realized this entry for April Fool's Day belongs here in Mystery Fanfare.

The International Edible Book Festival is held annually around April 1. According to Books2eat.com, the International Edible Book Festival is held on April 1st because "this is the birthday of French gastronome Jean-Anthelme Brillat-Savarin (1755-1826), famous for his book Physiologie du goût, a witty meditation on food. April fools' day is also the perfect day to eat your words and play with them as the "books" are consumed on the day of the event." This is a global banquet, in which anyone can participate, and is shared by all on the internet and allows everyone to preserve and discover unique bookish nourishments.

The International Edible Book Festival is a creation of Judith A. Hoffberg and Béatrice Coron. The late Hoffberg got the idea over a Thanksgiving turkey with book artists in 1999, and Béatrice created Books2Eat website where despite the distances everybody can enjoy worldwide creations. They contacted friends and colleagues, and their first event took place in 2000. Since then the festival continues as an annual sensation.

The University of Texas, Austin, has a great website about their Festival.

Check out the internet for a Festival at a library, university or bookstore near you.

For the "official" global locations of the Festival for 2009, go HERE.