Palin book tour visit packs tight schedule
Chances are slim there will be any grocery store or restaurant sightings of former Republican vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin during her swing through the area to promote her new memoir on Saturday.
Palin’s schedule is too tight for sight-seeing, said Republican activist Bill Nojay. He helped organize Palin’s planned stop to sign copies of Going Rogue: An American Life at the Borders bookstore in Henrietta.
“She’ll be flying into Rochester, going directly to the bookstore then leaving immediately afterward for another event,” he said. But, he left a little wiggle room.
“If Sarah Palin decides to do something, her attitude is ‘I’m here, why not?’ ” said Nojay.
Palin has broken her schedule at other dates, taking the time to chat with her fans and answer a few questions from her ever-present media swarm.
Palin kicked off her book tour Wednesday, with a stop in Grand Rapids, Mich. At each of her stops, she’s drawn crowds of thousands.
Her visit here will last three hours, but planning for crowd and traffic control with Borders, town of Henrietta and Monroe County Sheriff’s Office officials has taken weeks.
Cpl. John Helfer, spokesman for the Sheriff’s Office, said deputies would provide “special attention” for the area and provide help with traffic if needed.
The Henrietta Borders — across from The Marketplace mall — is part of an expansive strip mall that stretches about a half-mile along Hylan Drive.
A publicist with Palin publisher HarperCollins did not return calls and e-mails asking why the Rochester area and Henrietta site were picked for Palin’s stop. On her Facebook page, Palin has said she wanted to stop in cities that are not usually included in a typical tour.
Nojay said he’s heard Palin appreciates upstate New York’s long history of fighting for women’s rights and women’s involvement in politics. In her book, Palin wrote fondly of her visit last summer to Auburn, Cayuga County, where she visited the home of Harriet Tubman. She also visited the National Women’s Rights Hall of Fame in Seneca Falls, Seneca County.
And, he said, the Henrietta Borders has great parking, is close to the airport and has easy access from Interstate 390.
The store will remain open to regular customers during Palin’s visit. Patrons waiting for her to sign their books will stand in line and be admitted to the store in groups of 50. The National Weather Service predicts Saturday will be partly sunny with a high of 52 degrees and a low of 37 degrees.
Elizabeth Delgado and her mother, Pat Cappon, plan to be at the Hylan Drive bookstore by at least 6 a.m. Saturday to queue up for a wristband that will allow them back into the store for the 6 p.m. book signing. The women purchased their copies of Going Rogue on Thursday morning.
Summing up Palin’s appeal was easy for Delgado, who is also a member of the Palin-oriented political support organization Team Sarah.
“She is standing up for the people like me, and for women,” she said. “She is able to admit her mistakes and is always honest and says what she feels.”
Cappon agreed.
“She is just a loving and lovely person,” she said. “You can tell by her family.”
MCDERMOT@DemocratandChronicle.com
If you go
Where: Borders Books, Music Movies & Café, 1000 Hylan Drive, Henrietta.
When: 6 to 9 p.m. Saturday.
Details: (585) 292-5900.
Rules
According to Borders, here are some ground rules for former vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin’s book signing on Saturday:
