Blog Archives
Tea’s Weird Week: QWERTYFEST schedule is live, stage magic, Krampusnacht art, and more
QWERTYFEST MKE, a celebration of typewriters, Milwaukee history and innovation, writing and the lost arts, music, and fun happening Oct. 3-5, is something me and my co-organizer Molly Snyder have been hard at work at. We’ve got a schedule and I have to say, I’m really happy with everything about it. We have FANTASTIC people involved at every event and I’m especially glad that the venues– Turner Hall Ballroom, State Street Pizza, Central Library, Interchange Theater, Newsroom Pub, Forest Home Cemetery, and Falcon Bowl– are all places of rich history.
You can find the full schedule and tickets at our website: www.qwertyfest.com
BTW, still looking for View-Masters for a “View-Master Theater” at QWERTYFEST. Thanks to Irvin Orlandini for gifting a View-Master and a nice collection of reels. That was a great start!
I’m also quite proud of our official publication, QWERTY Quarterly. Every issue is a powerhouse of talent– poems, fiction, short articles, columns, fun pages. This month we released issue 9. A great way to support QWERTYFEST is to buy an issue or a subscription– 4 issues delivered to you is just $25. See our Etsy shop here: https://www.etsy.com/shop/qwertyquarterly
What else have I been up to?
-I wrote a feature for the August issue of Milwaukee Magazine (out now) about magician and illusionist Bill Blagg. I think it turned out well. It’s a story about the magic biz but also being determined to follow your dreams. That’s been a theme I return to– my article on local surfers springs to mind.
-I also have a feature in the September issue of MilMag on the legends of Whitewater I’m really thrilled for you to check out, so look out for that.
-I’m the director of Milwaukee Krampusnacht. This is our 8th year, and Stinky Goblin Emporium dropped our art (below) for this year. It features some characters from the previous 8 art designs they’ve done and they are also compiling a publication showcasing art from all 8 years you can pick up at this year’s event. I wrote a short intro for it. Vendor applications for Krampusnacht (Dec. 7 in the Brewery District) are currently open: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1S2rT5-JQng72kuxmI2INdQVVsp2RIoT2oLpHdN0sJFw/
-A reminder I’ll be on The UnXplained on August 15. A lot of people have asked– no, I didn’t get a chance to meet host William Shatner. They film his narration segments separately, but I’m thrilled I get to be on a show he hosts.
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Tea’s Weird Week: I Love Central Library (and a last call for help in QWERTYFEST fundraising)
Last month, I penned a piece for the Shepherd Express titled “A Love Letter to American Science & Surplus,” which was about the unique store’s fundraiser to stay in business (I’m glad to say they’ve since met their goal and are close to meeting a stretch goal). It felt good to write about a place that I think is great, so with QWERTYFEST MKE 2025 fundraising wrapping up, I wanted to say something about another place I love: Milwaukee Central Library.
We are going to be hosting QWERTYFEST presentations, workshops, and a library tour there on Saturday, October 4 and I could not be more thrilled to be there and to have our festival attendees check it out. Central Library is like a cathedral to me, and it looks the part. I can’t wait for QWERTYFEST guests who haven’t been there to see the rotunda lobby. It is just stunning.
I appreciate Central’s resources greatly. I’ve written five non-fiction books and an unknown number of articles and many research materials for that work have come from there. Being on a pretty thin budget, I’ve been able to borrow almost anything I’ve needed. When I was 20 and interested in listening to classic Blues music, I checked out a bunch of CDs from Central. It was nice to go somewhere to get out of the house but without needing to spend money. When I wanted to read collections of superhero comics while researching Heroes in the Night, they had them. More recently, when I wrote an article on the history of Serb Hall for Milwaukee Magazine, the library’s online newspaper database archive was the key to getting that article done.
I’ve been working a lot on the presentation/workshop line-up a lot this week and it’s a wonderful mix of librarians, typewriter aficionados, poets, mystery novelists, artists, and other interesting characters. It’s everything I hoped QWERTYFEST would be. We’ll be announcing that lineup soon (just got to confirm a couple things) at: www.qwertyfest.com
We are offering all these talks and workshops for FREE. Your support can help us make it happen by supporting our last call for our fundraiser, it is closing in the next couple days. Every little bit helps us fund QWERTYFEST programming: https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/qwertyfest-mke-2025#/
You can also contact us about fundraising/ sponsorship at: qwertyfestmke@gmail.com
I hope I might see you there at one of my favorite places on earth, Central Library.
teakrulos.com 