MKE Books & Beers is returning to Deer District this summer with three new events, following its Beer Garden debut last August.
Spotlighting local authors, bookstores and small-business vendors, Books & Beers came to fruition at the hands of Milwaukee native Destiny Van Hoesen, the book fair’s founder and organizer. After a few months spent pondering over her idea to unite Milwaukee readers, Van Hoesen collaborated with Deer District, along with local businesses, to curate her first-ever adult book fair.
“I think the subject line on my initial email was ‘Wild Idea,’ and it was like a random Wednesday afternoon, but I just couldn’t stop thinking about it,” said Van Hoesen.
It’s time to pick your Milwaukee favorites for the year!
This year’s event lineup consists of adult book fairs in June and August, Summer Tip-Off and Summer’s Last Call, and Books & Buddies in July, a book fair for young readers.
“I really wanted to focus on the small businesses in Milwaukee, because we have so many,” said Van Hoesen. “There’s so many creative people across the board, whether it’s local authors, which we have a lot of this year, or people who make bookmarks or Kindle chains. I grew up in Milwaukee, and I’ve lived here my whole life. I feel like we’re severely underrated as a city, and I’m so prideful about what our community brings to the table.”
Reflecting on last year’s turnout, Van Hoesen recalls the success of individual vendors involved in the fair; multiple had sold out of their supply. “I’m crying in the Deer District, because I’m so happy I got to be a small part of that,” said Van Hoesen.
One thing MKE Books & Beers hopes to highlight in its upcoming event series is the ability to support the Milwaukee community by shopping locally for books.
“It’s so easy to think, ‘TikTok said there’s a new release, so I need to go to Barnes & Noble to pick it up,’ but really, you can go down to Lion’s Tooth bookstore in Bay View or The Well Red Damsel in Tosa and shop local, where these small businesses are putting their heart and soul into the space, and in reality, you buying one book from them gives back to our community in a different way,” said Van Hoesen.
Kicking off its second year, Books & Beers is focused on being a mission-driven organization, with goals to use its resources to give back to the community. Van Hoesen recognizes that there are still spaces in Milwaukee where books aren’t as accessible to everyone, as they are to some.
“Growing up, it was really hard for my parents — just surviving,” said Van Hoesen. “We were very low-class. We didn’t have a lot, and for me, books were my escape. Reading the Twilight series or even reading Junie B. Jones when I was 10 years old was just something that made me feel like life was more doable. So, if we can, and when we do hold book drives and give back to special spaces in Milwaukee, it can truly make a difference in someone’s life.”
This summer’s first Books & Beers fair is on June 24 from 4:30 to 9 p.m. in the Beer Garden at Deer District, where guests are invited to shop from local beer and bookish vendors, while connecting with Milwaukee’s book community.
