Partially because it’s Love Your Library Month (and we love our local library) and partially because we’d like to eat a small mountain of soft pretzels, we’re throwing Septemberfest: a geographically nonspecific celebration of fall beer and food, benefiting the Braddock Carnegie Library.
Faithful newsletter recipients have undoubtedly heard many an ode to our local library, a historic landmark founded in 1889 by Andrew Carnegie that is now a multifunctional community center. The library recently unveiled its plan for a massive $15 million renovation project to expand their programming (including the screen printing and ceramics studios) and revive many of the sprawling architectural compound’s long-defunct facilities (such as a gymnasium and a 900-seat theater hall).
Providing a helpful boost to this ambitious endeavor is Love Your Library Month, a fundraising push led by the Allegheny County Library Association wherein all donations through the month of September will be matched by the Jack Buncher Foundation. Last year’s campaign raised a total of $810,000 for the county’s libraries, including the Braddock Carnegie Library.
Because donations during Love Your Library Month will have so much extra mileage, we figured that September was as good a time as ever to help out. And with plenty of other opportunities out there for oompah bands and lederhosen, we’re celebrating the current month rather than the next one with Septemberfest. Library staff will be in attendance to facilitate a variety of activities, and a portion of the proceeds will go directly back to their ongoing work.
We rounded up a number of food vendors too, including Gaucho, Driftwood Oven, Gyros N’at, Piebird, and dueling pretzel bakers (Axel’s Pretzels and the Braddock Community Oven) – all to the tunes of our vinyl-spinning resident DJ Sunkist Smith.
Septemberfest takes place on Saturday, September 21st from 4pm to 10pm at BG Open Air, our new outdoor space, and the alleyway behind our main taproom. BG Open Air is a former vacant lot that’s been transformed into a custom-fabricated outdoor space featuring $5 beers. The main taproom will also be open during the event.
All are welcome. RSVP at the event page on Facebook – where we will post updates, parking info, the beer schedule, and other event information.