Starting Tuesday afternoon, a line began forming from the side emergency exit of .
The crowd grew, snaking alongside the bookstore, until it reached around the corner and to the Starbucks on Petaluma Boulevard.
By the time the night’s attraction arrived, more than 500 people were gathered on Kentucky Street, all hoping for a glimpse of the celebrity.
Chris Colfer is a 22-year-old heartthrob known primarily for playing Kurt Hummel on the hit TV series “Glee.” But on Tuesday, Colfer was in town to promote his recently released “The Land of Stories: The Wishing Spell,” a children’s book he says he’s been thinking about for years.
The Golden Globe-winning actor said that he loved fairytales while growing up, which offered an escape from being bullied and the challenge of having an epileptic sister.
“The Land of Stories,” which was released on July 17, follows 12-year-old twins Alex and Connor Bailey when they fall into the pages of an old magical book of fairytales, encounter different characters and then try to return to the real world.
Tuesday’s event, where Colfer also signed copies of his book, was organized by Patty Norman, a children’s specialist at Copperfield’s, who has been working on bringing the young author to Petaluma for months.
The bookstore has a reputation for hosting high-profile public figures such as Willie Mays and Kristi Yamaguchi and is the reason Colfer’s publisher wanted him to come to the store, Norman said.
While many of the attendees were from Sonoma County, others came from around the Bay Area and some from out of state.
Kelly Ramey, who lives in Marysville, Washington, dragged her entire family to Petaluma for the reading and book signing and made an entire family vacation out of it.
“The Land of Stories: The Wishing Spell” is available at Copperfield’s as well as wherever books are sold.
