Congratulations to Bookends & Beginnings, Evanston, Ill., which is celebrating its 10th birthday on Wednesday, July 24, 5:30-7:30 p.m., with Toasts & Texts: A 10th Anniversary Gala and Silent Auction. It's a ticketed event with, as the store put it, "some fun fundraising elements to benefit our (still active) Relocation Fund [the store moved last year], including a very special in-house Silent Auction exclusively for attendees; we'll also be hosting an online Auction open to the general public, but only attendees will have access to these in-house items. There will be community VIPs on hand giving toasts, toast-related snacking, and some familiar, beloved literary texts delivered in their original, ancient languages, because who doesn't love a little Gilgamesh and Iliad at a party?"
Among Silent Auction items are walking tours of Evanston, dancing lessons, a writing masterclass, a tarot reading, a year-long book-a-month subscription at the store, and more. The Online Auction for the general public, which began yesterday and is running now through the party, features notebooks signed with a blessing for the user by notable store patrons and friends, including Amy Tan, Rebecca Makkai, Alex Kotlowitz, Sarah Ruhl, and Jonathan Eig, plus legendary actors Robin Ellis (Poldark), Brian Cox (Succession), and others. Other online items include signed books by Barack Obama and Paul McCartney (appraised at upwards of $6,000).
The event general admission cost is $25; a drink ticket is $7. For $250, donors can purchase an endowed event chair, with their names on it "for all time" and front-row seats at in-store events. All purchases made during the event will be discounted 10%.