Ames native and U.S. Poet Laureate Ted Kooser will be honored in an interesting way – by having his own day.

Ted Kooser Day will take place all day Saturday.

Kathryn Corones, president of the Historic Old Town Neighborhood, came up with the idea for the event after hearing Kooser at a poetry reading a couple of years ago at the Memorial Union. His book “Local Wonders” also inspired her.

“‘Local Wonders’ is about what Ted Kooser did in Ames; what his life was like when he lived as a kid in Ames and that is what gave me the idea,” she said.

Corones then took her idea to the rest of the Historic Old Town Neighborhood Association, who took interest and has been planning since October.

Kathy Svec, president of the Ames Historical Society, said she is excited about the event.

“Ted Kooser, while he is still alive and a contemporary person, he does have roots in Ames; although it’s recent history, it is exciting history,” she said. “It’s fun when someone famous comes from your hometown.”

Many events are being held throughout the day. One event is a self-guided tour of Ames sites mentioned in Kooser’s book, “Local Wonders.”

“Pick up the map and you can see the extent of his world,” Svec said.

She said Kooser grew up and went to school on Ninth Street and his father worked on Ninth Street. The area would have impacted his life.

“His first 19 years of life were shaped by living in Ames,” Svec said. “The map will be fun for people to see, and it will be good excuse to walk through the Old Town neighborhood.”

Another event is a poetry reading.

“The big and really exciting event of the day is that he will be doing a reading,” Svec said. “People will get a chance to hear him read and talk about his own poetry.”

Corones was unsure at first if Kooser would be coming to the event.

“When I started I thought it was rude to invite him; then someone said it’s rude not to invite him,” she said. “The next idea was then he’ll have to give a reading.”

Corones said there will be some guests at the reading that know or used to know Kooser.

Some of them include his wife, his baby-sitter from when he was a child and some classmates, including childhood friend Jack Winkler.

“[It’s] always fun to spend time with him because he has an active imagination; he’s a great storyteller,” Winkler said. “It will be good to see him again; I haven’t seen him since his reading at the [Memorial] Union.”

Svec said she hopes the community will enjoy the day.

“We hope they gain an appreciation of Ted Kooser’s writing at the very least,” she said. “The things he writes about are very familiar and it isn’t difficult poetry or hard to understand.”

Other events for the day include displays of Kooser’s book at local bookstores, an award ceremony for a poetry contest for kindergarten through 12th-grade students, a reception including a book signing and a poetry jam.

All events are free, but a free-will donation is requested at the Kooser reading.

The event is sponsored by the Historic Old Town Neighborhood Association, Ames Historical Society, Ames Public Library, The Octagon Center for the Arts and Ames Noon Kiwanis. The Iowa Arts Council also gave a grant.