by Ember Duke | layout editor
The Scholastic Book Fair is a trademark of the Millennial and Gen Z school experience. Many might remember skimming the book catalogs, circling which ones they wanted or waiting excitedly all day for their turn to sort through books and fun toys. This Saturday, there’s a chance to relive that feeling.
On Sept. 14 Bottlerocket Social Hall in Allentown will be holding an “adult scholastic book fair,” for literature lovers missing the nostalgia of the familiar childhood event or for anyone looking to fill up their Saturday afternoon.
The event will take place in Bottlerocket’s warehouse behind the main building on Arlington Avenue from 1 p.m. to 7 p.m.
“I mean, that was always the most exciting day for me, when the book fair was at school,” said bar manager and event coordinator Hannah Confer. “It was like, when does my class get to go? And I think for readers specifically, there isn’t, other than just going to bookstores, there’s not a lot of book-themed events.”
Confer said the venue staff tries to schedule events they and the community care about. This is the first time this event has happened, but if all goes well Confer hopes to make it a regular occurrence.
Three local bookstores will be in attendance alongside other vendors. A few Pittsburgh authors, Rachel Ann-Bovier, Jason Kieran and Nick Roberts, will also be reading at the event.
“We’re going to have some crafting areas with different tables and stuff [where] you can just hang out and do coloring pages and some beanbag chairs to sit on and just hang out for the day,” Confer said. “The most exciting part is whenever I pull something off is people, really enjoyed this and they had a good time,” Confer said.
Arlan Hess, owner of the oldest independent bookstore in Pittsburgh, City Books, said the Pittsburgh literary scene is tight knit. She thinks the event could bring more public awareness to independent booksellers in the city.
“I mean, the more people who know that Pittsburgh [has] an embarrassment of riches in terms of independent bookstores in this city, the better,” Hess said. “You know, if people think the only place to buy a book, whether it’s new or used, is Amazon, then something is wrong with the ecosystem in Pittsburgh.”
In anticipation of the event, Hess is picking what books to bring and looking forward to talking with other avid readers.
Other bookstores, Stay Gold Books and Stories Like Me will also be attending the event.
“If you have three new bookstores that primarily carry new best seller books, then there’s a really good chance they’re all going to bring the same 20 books,” Confer said. “So we have new booksellers, people who do used resell books and then we have someone who [sell] children’s books, just to kind of diversify the market.”
The currently empty, gray warehouse will soon be filled with literary and school-themed decorations, like bulletin boards and a bowl filled with book recommendations on notecards. As of Monday, 170 people have already RSVP’d for the event on Facebook.
“We just set up a mobile bar in [the warehouse],” Confer said. “We’re gonna do a batch cocktail that’ll probably be book themed.”
Traditionally, scholastic fairs have more than just books. There were arrays of erasures shaped like animals, pens with bobbles on the end or pencil cases with funny characters on them.
The event keeps this sentiment in mind with a selection of non-book vendors and guests, all within the literary theme.
Homestead based tattoo studio, Kindness, Solidarity, Design & The Radio Room (KSD), will be doing pre-designed flash tattoos. Artists Kyle Cass and Ronnie J. Savage will be offering tattoos on a first-come, first-serve basis. It is their third and fourth time respectively tattooing at Bottlerocket hosted events.
“We just really, really appreciate all of the community that they build,” Savage said. “They bring a really fun, interesting, nostalgic vibe, especially to somewhere like Allentown where it’s on the up and up now, but we just really like everything that they do. It’s just a whole crew of really supportive, creative people.”
They each expect to get through 10-12 tattoos the day of the event. They will also be offering temporary tattoos for anyone not interested in getting inked. Event day prices will be honored for designs at their shop after the fair.
“We have some cute little bookish designs, some little fall inspired designs as well, just kind of something that a lot of people can get down with,” Savage said. “I really like everyone who comes there, I think they’re always kind of surprised to see people tattooing, like in a bar in a warehouse.”
Patrons can find parking for the event in the Bottlerocket overflow lot on Industry Street, the Dollar Bank lot on Manton Way or use street parking. The bulk of the vendors will be set up in the warehouse’s main room, which will invite patrons in through a huge open garage door.