If you’re in Chicago and looking for some culture, check out Tuesday Funk this upcoming Tuesday, April 7th at the Flourish Bakery Cafe on W. Bryn Mawr Avenue in Edgewater. Tuesday Funk is celebrating its twelth installment of the reading series and its hotly anticipated one year anniversary. This month will feature Elisabeth Blair, Gina DiPonio, and William Shunn. Tuesday Funk is brought to you by the Gothic Funk Nation which, while sounding in name like a Parliament Funkadelic cover band, is actually an art collective with “a whole lotta rhythm goin’ down.” For more information, jump over to their web-presence: Tuesday Funk.

Ron Charles at the Washington Post reports in his article “Adopting Shakespeare” on this year’s Acquisitions Night at the Folger Shakespeare Library. How incredible it would be to attend this event. Essentially, collectors and enthusiasts and philanthropists attend this annual event, view the latest acquisitions, and sponsor them for restoration. As Charles reports, only about a quarter of the Folger’s collection is Shakespeare-related, but that doesn’t mean the rest of their collection isn’t just as interesting. What thrills me most about the event can be summed up in the following excerpt from the article:

Nothing’s behind glass; there’s no standing on the other side of a velvet rope. “Would you like to feel the paper?” one of the attendants asked, holding out a 400-year-old note.

The opportunity to actually feel paper from 400 years ago isn’t something most of us will ever get. I’m not positive as to whether or not Acquisitions Night is open to the public. Charles points out that “165 well-heeled book collectors and enthusiasts paid $100 for a privilege usually reserved only for scholars;” I’m unsure if this means the event is usually closed to the public but this year made an exception or if this is the one night of the year that anybody can come in, pay the entrance fee, and run around a room filled with treasure. If $100 is all it takes, I’ll be there. And maybe I’ll even sponsor one of their cheaper items just to have my name on a placard in the Library. Pretty cool stuff.

Addendum: after searching the Folger website, it seems they will let the rabble into Acquisitions Night. Oh happy day. Who is coming with me next year?

Also, the above picture is from Folger and was taken by Tracey Attlee, LLC.

Over at Centerstage Chicago, Stacy Warden has an article about the upcoming 10th Annual International Edible Books Festival, held on April 1st, at the Columbia College Library. The article, “Eat Your Words,” reports that the event has been held all over the world, including Australia, Brazil, Canada, England, France, Germany, India, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Mexico, Morocco, Netherlands, New Zealand, Russia, and the US; how have I not heard of this before? The goal of this festival, it seems, is to create a wholly edible “book” with some sort of pun written on the cover. Anyone can enter, but only the most bookish baker will win. Though really, I’m not even sure that it’s a competition; rather, it appears more like a showcase for the edible artwork. Looking over the Festival’s website, it appears as though there’s really no limit to which you must adhere to enter. Many people seem to bake cakes for the event, but sometimes you’ll get someone making little books out of deli meat.

If you’re interested in participating, there is still time to register; March 27th is the final day of registration and you can do so by calling (312) 369-6630. If you’d simply like to enjoy these edible books, the event will be held on April 1st and admission is $10. For more information, check out the afore-linked Centerstage article or go to the Festival’s website.