First bid on pie judgeship!

HomeGrown Market proprietor Jeff Johnson has put in the first bid for the pie judgeship seat auction, event though the auction hasn't officially opened, with an offer of $50. "I'm GOING to get that seat," he exclaimed to the volunteers putting up posters for the LiBerry Music Festival and Berry Pie Throwdown.

We'll see, but he seemed pretty determined. (Pre-auction bids may be sent to events @esterlibrary.org, and then we'll know where to open the auction at! Remember, you have to actually be there to bid--and taste the pies!) Check out our event page on Facebook to RSVP to find out more about the music festival; see below for pie contest rules.

Berry list!

Berry season, folks, and it's time for pie and some great local music!

Date & Time: Saturday, August 25, 2 to 10 pm
Location: Golden Eagle Saloon, 3630 Main Street, Ester, Alaska
Cost: $15 donation requested at the door, $5 donation requested per slice of delicious, homemade pie! 
Pie contest entry fee: $2 per pie (savory and sweet categories, no limit on number of entries, but all must be homemade and include berries)
Pie registration: noon to 1:30 (don't be late!)
Pie judgeship seat auction: 
Reason: good fun, good music, good pie—and raising funds to build a library! 

Here's the scoop:

• PIE THROWDOWN: Bring your homemade pie with berries in it to the Golden Eagle Saloon between noon and 1:30 pm, pay your $2 entry fee and register your pie (and bring your recipe for publication in the Throwdown Cookbook!). Winning pie makers receive FABULOUS prizes, and the top pies are auctioned off to the audience. Awards are presented between 3:30 and 4:30 pm (we hope the judges can finish that fast!) and then the other pies are sold by the slice ($5 donation requested per slice). And if you'd rather just eat pie, one of the judge's seats is up for auction, too, so get there early to have a chance at tasting every pie entered! 
• BERRIES: Most people know what berries are: blueberries, cranberries, etc. But did you know that things like strawberries or raspberries aren't actually berries, botanically speaking? And that avocadoes, watermelons, tomatoes, bananas, and lemons are? Pies submitted for the contest must have berries in them, but the berries may be either by the botanical definition or those fruits commonly thought of as berries. The pie judges will be the final arbiters of what constitutes a berry for purposes of the contest, so be prepared to sweet talk them if necessary (large donations to the library sometimes help in this matter).

• MUSIC FESTIVAL: music starts at 2 pm and goes until 10 pm, with some really incredibly good local bands and performers, including Ptarmagin, Zingaro Roots, Tim Robb, Almost A Minyan, and many, many more. 

LiBerry Music Festival & Berry Pie Throwdown!

The annual music festival and berry pie contest fundraiser for the library is being emceed by none other than Bob Miller this year! Held as usual at the Golden Eagle Saloon, we have a marvelous lineup in store for you, with some popular faces returning and some new surprises. The festival starts at 2 and ends at 10 on Saturday August 25; more details coming soon!

LiBerry Music Festival & Pie Throwdown 2011

"If anyone knows how to throw a family fun music festival in the name of books, berries, and a building, it's the radical librarians of Ester." —Fairbanks Daily News-Miner

Berry season, folks, and it's time for pie and some great local music!

Date & Time: Saturday, August 20, 2 to midnight
Location: Golden Eagle Saloon, 3630 Main Street, Ester, Alaska
Cost: $15 donation requested at the door, $5 donation requested per slice of delicious, homemade pie!
Reason: good fun, good music, good pie—and raising funds to build a library!

Here's the scoop:

• PIE THROWDOWN: anybody can enter. Bring your homemade pie with berries in it (berries as in the botanical and/or common definition thereof) to the Golden Eagle Saloon between 2 and 3 pm, pay your $2 entry fee and register your pie (and bring your recipe for publication in the Throwdown Cookbook!). Winning pie makers receive FABULOUS prizes, and the top pies are auctioned off to the audience. Awards are presented between 3:30 and 4:30 pm (we hope the judges can finish that fast!) and then the other pies are sold by the slice ($5 donation requested per slice). And if you'd rather just eat pie, one of the judge's seats is up for auction, too, so get there early to have a chance at tasting every pie entered!
• MUSIC FESTIVAL: music starts at 2 pm and goes until midnight, with some really incredibly good local bands and performers, including Jass Pharm, Steve Brown & the Bailers, Zingaro Roots, Jesse Hobbs, Almost A Minyan, and many, many more. 
• BOOK SALE: tables with used and new books will be set up on the porch of the Golden Eagle for sale during the festival. We'll have donation jars on the tables, so just take a book or two and put whatever amount you want into the jar. The sale helps us clear out duplicate titles and raise money for our masonry heater.
• T-SHIRT & FASHION ITEMS SALE: another table will be set up with library t-shirts and extra items remaining from the Lallapalooza. Items are priced as marked. T-shirts & tank tops: $15, sweatshirts: $35, skirts & aprons & jackets: $35-$45. Some shirts have been donated by Nomadic Stars screen printers, too. All proceeds benefit the library!

Volunteers at the John Trigg Ester Library have been working hard for several years to raise funds for a new, spacious, energy-conserving library building in Ester that will serve the west end of town, and you can help! The LiBerry Music festivals started in 2006, becoming steadily more popular and featuring the best of live local music. Come hear rock, folk, jazz, world, blues, bluegrass, and much more, and celebrate and support your local musicians, culinary artists, and neighborhood library all in one great festival!

Looking for librarypalooza volunteers!

The 7th annual Library Lallapalooza and Book Bash is coming up on Sunday, February 27, from 2 to 5 pm at the Annex. As usual, this fundraiser has several aspects.

• the music: Monique Musick and Bob Huebert are rounding up volunteers to perform at the librarypalooza. We'll have live background music throughout the afternoon.
• the Pastapalooza: Ken Bluhm is organizing the lasagne feed. If you would like to help him with this or want to take a spell serving pasta to the public, contact him at 978-8089.
• the auctions: this year, there will be an outcry auction as well as the four silent auctions. If you'd like to donate an item for the auction, or help close tables or work the payment booth, contact Trey Simmons at pacotrey@gmail.com or call Jeff Rogers at 474-1694.
• the fashion show: Amy Cameron is once again curating a fashion show, and needs runway models and fabric artists to convert library t-shirts into pret-a-porter items or one-of-a-kind fashion statements. Contact her at badwhitedog@gmail.com or 388-9183 if you'd like to join the JTEL Sewing Consortium or walk the library strut at the 'Palooza.
• not last and not least, the desserts: We'll be featuring fabulous desserts during the outcry auction. If you'd like to contribute a dessert, please contact Melinda Harris at 378-6744.

Pies, people, and music

The music festival was fabulous, and made about $500-$600 more than last year (final count over the next couple of days may increase the tally of day's take, which was in the realm of $3,150). We again had 17 pies entered in the contest, and TWO of the three judges' favorites went for $100 each! The funds raised will got to our site preparation, happening in September. We'll keep you posted on the details.

The information table is still up at the gazebo, so if you are passing by and would like to find out a bit more about the library, please stop in and rest awhile.

Photos from the event are on Facebook and a few will be posted here soon. Thank you to everyone who helped out, and to all who came to enjoy the great music and the yummy pies.

LiBerry Pie Throwdown!

Part of the LiBerry Music Festival is our fabulous pie contest! Last year, 17 pies were entered, with the big prizes going to the top three winners (and other entries won prizes, too), which were then auctioned off to the audience. The top-earning pie went for a $75!

The Pie Throwdown is a delicious way to support the library: bake a pie (or two, or three!) using berries and bring it to the Golden Eagle Saloon at 2 pm on August 21 for judging. Awards will be presented at 4 pm, and the grand prize winners will be auctioned off to benefit the library. The other pies will be sold by the piece.

Here's the particulars:

• pies must be homemade (no storebought) and must include berries, preferably wild Alaska ones. Berries may be those traditionally thought of as berries or any by the strict botanical definition (such as tomatoes or watermelons). Savory or sweet pies accepted.

• entry fee is $2 per pie. Multiple pie submissions by the same cook are perfectly fine.

• "Bribes," or extra donations to the library, may earn special note and an award (as happened last year: there was a Largest Bribe award). Just let the judges know how much and for which entry!

• Award categories will be determined by the judges at the time of the contest. Winners will be announced at the Golden Eagle starting at 4 pm.

• Judges are Judie Gumm, David Guttenberg, and one other to be determined by auction. If you would like to judge pies (and thereby have the duty to taste all of those delectable entries!) please arrive at the Golden Eagle no later than 2:40 pm. Bidding for the position will start at 2:45.

• Leftover slices will be offered up to the audience for donation. Top-winning pies will be presented whole (minus judges' sampling) to the audience for auction.

Jeremy Harrod, guitarist, will provide music after the awards. For more on the other great musicians who are playing, go to the music festival webpage. For more information on the contest, contact board member Melinda Harris, pie contest organizer, at 455-4359 or 378-6744.

5th annual LiBerry Music Festival!

The 5th annual LiBerry Music Festival, a benefit for the Ester library, is coming up SOON! A celebration of local music and berry pie, this fun event will take place Saturday, August 21, in Ester.

Where: Ester village, in the Ida Lane Clausen Gazebo (across from the post office), the Golden Eagle Saloon, and Hartung Hall

When: 2 pm until late at night on Saturday, August 21

What: a music festival, a drumming circle (4 pm at the gazebo), a pie contest (pie entry 2 to 3 pm at the Golden Eagle, awards at 4 pm) and a foot-stomping good time!

Why: a fundraiser to raise money for heating oil and the new John Trigg Ester Library building

Who: Elzbeth Adams, Almost A Minyan, the Banana Girls Marching Ukulele Band, Mel Birch, the Carper Family, Celtic Confusion, Russell Copelin, Dangertown, Jeremy Harrod, Hillbilly Mafia, Jesse Hobbs, Hustler's High, Matt Johnson & Friends, Jean McDermott, Musical Rumors, Tim Robb, Zingasa

For the complete schedule and performance locations, go to the festival page.

Dedication for the Ida Lane Clausen Gazebo

Gazebo work party & dedication

The Ester library gazebo, across from the Ester Post Office, has been under construction since 2007. After a big work party that summer to pour the foundation, the gazebo was erected and roofed and stained glass windows installed. This summer, we will have the final work parties to complete the gazebo and make it ready for use at the fifth annual Li-Berry Music Festival. The gazebo has excellent acoustics and makes a good site for outdoor acoustic jams on warm days. It is also used as the staging site for Readers on the Run.

We'll be creating the bulletin board, a giant 4x8 foot cork board, during the weeks before these work parties, to give the glue plenty of time to dry. Anyone who wants to help put in corks, please come by the gazebo from the 21st-25th (we'll do one side, then give it a few days to dry and flip it over on the 26th to do the next side). There will be glue and, of course, plenty of corks. Please use the wooden ones only for this bulletin board.

(Materials and tasks lists will be amended on this post over the next couple of days as the librarians get more information.)

July 31, Saturday, noon
(come earlier if you like)

Tasks: building benches from the aspen logs, completing the ceiling of the gazebo, painting, installing flashing and the corkboard

Materials & Tools Needed: screws & screw guns or screw drivers, stepladders (6'), sandpaper, paint brushes (paint for gazebo supplied), varnish for benches, cordless drills, chain saw, beverages & snacks to feed the volunteers

August 1, Sunday, noon to 5 pm
(again, come earlier if you like; there will be somebody there from about 10 am on)

Tasks: removal of center post, finishing up Saturday's tasks, cleanup

Materials & Tools Needed: hacksaw with blade suitable for cutting metal, garbage bags

Gazebo dedication & party
Sunday afternoon, 5 pm

After the cleanup, the gazebo will be dedicated to the memory of Ida Lane Clausen. A short dedication event will be held, followed by a party and music! Please come to this event even if you can't make it to the work parties, and help us dedicate our library gazebo in honor of a talented, intelligent, and beautiful musician, cook, actress, singer, gardener, painter, writer, and dog groomer who for many years graced Ester with her lively presence. Bring your musical instruments and potluck dishes!

New title: biography of Jimi Hendrix

Only a few music titles have been catalogued in the Ester library's collections so far, but the newest is a biography of Jimi Hendrix by Charles R. Cross, Room Full of Mirrors.

Ben Sisario of the New York Times reviews this book in an essay published in August 2005. The book was published in 2005 by Hyperion. More reviews are available on Amazon.

ISBN: 1401300286, hardcover, 400 pages