Friends Of The Library
Tickets are required and are available for $35.00 per person at Decatur Public Library’s Public Services desk, during library hours.
Tickets must be purchased by 6pm on
Tuesday, July 7th,
or until they sell out.
We accept cash, credit card and checks (made payable to Friends of Decatur Public Library)
Friends of Decatur Public Library
2026 Author Luncheon
featuring
Lisa Patton
Wednesday,
July 15th
Noon
Banksy Event Venue
Enjoy lunch, a talk and book signing with the author.
About the Event
The luncheon begins at 12pm at the Banksy Event Venue
located at 719 Bank St NE STE B Decatur, AL, United States, Alabama 35601
The cold lunch menu will be chicken salad, broccoli salad, and fruit salad.
There will be a mix of desserts.
After lunch service, author Lisa Patt0n will speak, followed by a book-signing.
Directions to Banksy Event Venue
From Decatur:
Take Hwy 31N/6th Avenue towards the bridge. Turn left onto Lee Street (you will see the library on the corner of Lee & 6th as you turn). Lee Street will turn into Bank Street, and you will go almost to the end of it. The Banksy Event Venue is next door to Bank Street Grille, on the left.
From Huntsville:
Take I-565 W, follow US-72 ALT W and AL-20 W to Decatur. Continue onto US-72 ALT W for 3.5 miles, and then on AL-20 W for 1.7 miles. Turn right onto AL-20 W/Wilson St NE (signs for US-72). Turn left onto Canal St NE, and then right onto Lafayette St NE. Turn left onto Bank St NW. The Banksy Event Venue is 121 feet on the right. Additional parking is available in the rear of the building.
From Birmingham:
Take I-65 N, take exit 334 for AL-67 toward Decatur/Priceville/Somerville. Use the left lane to take AL-67 north. Turn left onto AL-67 N/Hwy 67 S/Point Mallard Pkwy SE. Pass by McDonald’s (on the right in 0.3 mi). After 4 ½ miles, turn right onto US-31 N/6th Ave SE. Turn left onto Lee St NE (between the Decatur Public Library and Renaisant Bank (if you see Jack’s on the right, you’ve gone too far). Lee Street will turn into Bank Street. Destination will be on the left. Additional parking is available in the rear of the building.
Lisa Patton
After thirteen years at an all-girls school in Memphis and a house
full of sisters, Lisa Patton headed for co-ed life at the University of Alabama where she majored in Fun and Communications and double-minored in English and Theatre. Shortly after graduation she returned home to Memphis where she prioritized her passion for acting and music, landing a job as manager of the Historic Orpheum Theatre. Four years later she transitioned into rado promotions at WMC–FM 100, the landmark Memphis Adult Contemporary station. It was there she received Billboard Magazine’s Promotion Director of the Year Award.
The birth of her two sons made it difficult to emcee nightly charity auctions and movie premieres so Lisa shifted to the NBC affiliate, WMC-TV Channel 5, as their Promotion Director. Writing both radio and TV promo spots, character voice bits, and news promos made up a large part of both broadcasting positions.
A three-year stint as an innkeeper in Vermont added diversity to
her deeply southern roots and it was there Lisa got the inspiration for her bestselling debut novel, WHISTLIN’ DIXIE IN A NOR’EASTER. While she loved the Vermonters and considered snow skiing at her fingertips a dream come true, three sub-zero winters proved enough already, so she pointed her compass South again and sped back to Tennessee to thaw. Two years later she returned to the music industry and was hired by Michael McDonald, The Doobie Brother’s front man and multi Grammy Award winning songwriter, as his right-hand person.
She worked on multiple albums and video projects including the Grammy nominated, certified Platinum, MOTOWN.
A breast cancer thriver, Lisa is now the bestselling author of WHISTLIN’ DIXIE IN A NOR’EASTER and YANKEE DOODLE DIXIE. Both novels have been featured on the Southern Independent
Booksellers Alliance (SIBA) Bestseller List and in 2010 Lisa was selected by Target as an Emerging Author. SOUTHERN AS A SECOND LANGUAGE is the third and final book in what Library Journal calls, “The beloved Dixie series.” Lisa’s fourth novel, RUSH, was a summer 2018 Okra Pick from SIBA, as well as a SIBA bestseller. When asked about her biggest influences, Lisa credits three funny redheads: Lucille Ball, Carol Burnett and Fannie Flagg.
Lisa is the proud mother of two sons, eight bonus children and eleven grandchildren. She and her husband live in the rolling hills of Nashville, Tennessee with their four-legged furry son named Handsome.
Learn more about Lisa and her books on her website.
About the Friends of Decatur Public Library
The Friends of Decatur Public Library is a 501(c)(3) non-profit incorporated association. Our objectives are to:
- Encourage all citizens to make fuller use of the opportunities afforded by the Decatur Public Library for the dissemination of education and culture.
- Provide supplementary materials and equipment to increase the effectiveness and scope of services provided by the Decatur Public Library.
- Foster locally an appreciation of the high standard of service afforded by libraries in general and by the Decatur Public Library in particular.
- To stimulate public interest and support of the Decatur Public Library.
- Develop citizenship, enrichment and education through better reading.
The Friends Used Book Sale Room
Other Ways To Help
Monetary Donation
The Friends of the Library will accept monetary donations in cash or check form. Make checks payable to Friends of the Library.
The Friends of the Library is a 501 (c) (3) non-profit organization. All gifts are tax-deductible.
Join the Friends!
Download & print the Friends Membership Form and mail it, along with a check for your dues and/or donation, to :
Friends of Decatur Public Library
504 Cherry Street NE
Decatur, AL 35601
OR stop by the library and pick up a copy.
Volunteer
The Friends of Decatur Public Library accept volunteers from their membership. If you are interested in volunteering for any of the following, please check the boxes on your Friends of Decatur Public Library membership form. Click on each item for more details about what would be required.
Volunteering weekly, in the Used Book Sale Room
Book Room volunteers unpack, sort, price and shelve book donations. The Friends typically work in the Book Sale Room on Mondays and Wednesdays, from 12pm – 2pm. You could be asked to work extra for donation drives or other special events.
Volunteering at events
These volunteer opportunities would not be scheduled regularly, and you would be provided with advanced notice. Volunteers would help with setup such as moving and arranging chairs, tables or other furniture, putting out refreshments (if applicable), and any other work that needs to be done prior to an event. Usually requires an hour before the event and an hour after for clean-up.
Decorating for the Holiday Open House
This could include putting up, shaping and decorating a Christmas tree, unpacking decorations, putting garland on the railings, hanging wreaths, etcetera. Another volunteer opportunity would be removing the decorations, boxing them, and storing them after the holiday.
Serving on the Friends’ Author Luncheon committee
The Friends’ Author Luncheon is a recurring, ticketed author event. Serving on the Luncheon committee would involve logistical organization leading up to the event which could involve phone calls, coordinating advertisement, arranging tickets, setting up the venue and working on the menu. The day of the event will require set-up coordination with the venue, working with the author and/or bookseller, and anything else that needs to be done for the event.
Serving on the Friends Board, if a vacancy opens
The Friends Board meets on the 3rd Thursday each month, at 4pm, in the Community Room at Decatur Public Library. The Board handles the business of the Friends’ group: coordinating the Used Book Sale Room, determining the distribution of the profits, planning occasional events, and supporting the library. Meetings typically last one hour. Opportunities to head up or serve on special committees may arise which would require more time.