Kathryn Hohlwein will host an all-night, community-participation reading of Homer’s “The Odyssey,” beginning at 7:30 p.m., Friday, June 22, and concluding at 7 a.m., Saturday, June 23. The reading, the first in Sacramento in more than 10 years, will take place on the Mother Goose stage at Fairytale Town.

About the event, Hohlwein said, “I did the first one at Gibson Ranch in 1998, the second in 1999. Then I moved to New York City, and we did several there. Since then, it has been more abroad than in the States.” Hohlwein cited readings in Alexandria, Egypt; on the Greek Islands of Chios and Kos; on a cruise entitled “The Journey of Odysseus;” in Montevideo, Uruguay; at the 92nd Street Y in New York; and at the Getty Villa in Malibu, Calif.

“We have had readers reading in practically every language imaginable. This works because we have the PowerPoint presentation in the host language so people can follow,” Hohlwein said, and cited Flemish, Danish, Portuguese, Turkish, ancient Greek, French, Spanish, Dutch, Mandarin, Japanese, Arabic and Finnish as some of the languages. “And tomorrow in a Sengalese dialect.”

“There are still slots available to read between 1:30 and 6 a.m.,” Hohlwein added.

Gates will open at 6:30 p.m. Friday for the long-awaited return of this epic, community- participation reading, which is presented in partnership with The Readers of Homer, an organization that produces this type of reading of Homer’s “The Iliad” and “The Odyssey” throughout the world, and Fairytale Town, a non-profit children’s park and educational center in Land Park.

Children, veterans, poets, teachers and others from the greater Sacramento community will comprise the 200 or so participants who will read aloud pre-assigned passages from the Robert Fagles’ translation of “The Odyssey.”

Attendees are encouraged to bring jackets, lawn chairs, tents, snacks and beverages to enjoy during this 12-hour reading of Odysseus’ 10-year struggle to reach home after the end of the Trojan War.

Advance tickets are $20 for adults. Event-day tickets are $25 for adults. Veterans, active military, students with valid ID and children 12 and younger are free. To reserve your tickets please email your full name to mail@fairytaletown.org.