Human Mosaic to Take Shape in D.C.

First lady Laura Bush, who hosts the event each year, will have a breakfast for the featured authors at the White House this morning, but organizers are unsure whether she will make an appearance at the festival, Fischer said.

In addition to the introduction of poets, mystery authors and children's storytellers, the book festival will include the launch of a "book relief effort" to restock libraries destroyed by Hurricane Katrina and provide books to the children affected by the storm. It will also be host of the Veterans History Project, a grass-roots effort to document the stories of veterans from World War I through current conflicts and those who supported war efforts on the home front, according to the Library of Congress.

Park Police will also ensure that monuments and tours remain open and accessible to tourists who want to take in more traditional sites this weekend, Fear said.

Transportation officials are not anticipating any major problems. A Metro spokesman said the system will not run extra trains but will have additional personnel at downtown stops to help visitors.

"People in this area are pretty darn good at this stuff and these events. We just have to remember what to do," said D.C. Transportation Director Dan Tangherlini. "Obviously, we're encouraging people to take Metro this weekend."

Many of those coming into town for the demonstrations will be arriving by charter bus. Bus drivers have been asked to drop their passengers on Pennsylvania Avenue NW between 13th and 14th streets, south of Freedom Plaza. The buses will park at various suburban Metro stations and pick up their passengers there after the rally, according to protest organizers.

Organizers say the flow of pedestrian traffic around the Mall should be good, noting that there will be no police security checkpoints.

Police are closing streets around the IMF and World Bank at 18th and H streets NW, the area around Constitution Hall and streets near the antiwar march route.

The antiwar rally is scheduled to begin at 11 a.m. at the Ellipse. The march will start about 12:30 p.m., and a concert is scheduled at the Washington Monument grounds from 3 p.m. until 1 a.m. Counter-demonstrators plan to be along the parade route and at the U.S. Navy Memorial at Seventh Street and Pennsylvania Avenue NW today.

Tomorrow, a coalition of conservative groups is sponsoring a rally in support of the Iraq war at noon on the Mall at Fourth Street NW.

Staff writer Del Quentin Wilber contributed to this report.