Inaugural ‘Books For the ‘Burgh’ Event Collects Nearly 400 Books for Newburgh Libraries

Unless you're a parent of a kid who brings home the paper Scholastic Book Fair fliers, when was the last time you thought about the good ol' days of the elementary school book fair? Back then, going into the school cafeteria or gym that was transformed into a fair with books, posters, little scented erasers....rolling up with a crisp $20 you thought you were living THE LIFE.

On Thursday November 16th, Newburgh Brewing Company, with the help of Golden Hour Books, Billy Joe's Ribworks and the Newburgh Armory, hosted an 'adult book fair' of sorts, and the community showed up in a big way to donate to the Newburgh Free Library System.

Nearly 400 Books Donated to Newburgh Libraries

If you didn't have the chance to stop by Newburgh Brewing this past Thursday, November 16th, not only did you miss out on some serious grade-school nostalgia, but you missed out on an incredible event that brought the community together for a great cause.

The taproom was packed with patrons of all ages, with the wall overlooking the water transformed into a book fair. Event-goers were able to browse the book collection and decide on titles they wanted to purchase that would then be donated to Newburgh libraries. There was even an option to write a little note to be included with your book donation.

The first 50 people to buy a book received an awesome 'Books for the 'Burgh' t-shirt donated by Mixture Prints, and everyone who made a purchase received a complimentary pint of beer plus each book purchase got you a raffle ticket for a variety of great raffle prizes.

Not only did Santa himself make an appearance, and live music with Bandeoke (that's when there's a live band, Hillbilly Parade providing the soundtrack to your karaoke), but local artist Rob Mounier was on site live painting an incredible canvas that celebrated kids reading, which has been donated and now proudly displayed at the Newburgh Free Library.

Watching Rob create this piece was one of the highlights of the night for me, and talking with him about the creative process of designing this on the fly was incredible!

In total, 392 books were purchased and donated to the Newburgh library system thanks to the generosity of our Hudson Valley community.

'Adult Book Fair' To Benefit Newburgh Children

The idea stemmed from a meme that Paul Halayko, owner of Newburgh Brewing company spotted while scrolling social media.

I thought that’s an awesome idea, the brewery should totally do that!

After attempting to partner with some book fair companies with no success, due to the fact that they only provide their services in schools, Paul connected with a brand new independent book store, Golden Hour Books, that just opened in Newburgh right on Broadway.

I thought maybe they could help manage the actual book sale part of this and we can make it happen and voila! “Books for the ‘Burgh: a Grown Up Book Fair to Support Newburgh Libraries” was born.

Now that the event is done, Golden Hour will order all of the books purchased, and they'll get delivered to the brewery within a week or so, and then find their way to their new homes at the four local libraries.

Three cheers for books, beer, and helping the 'Burgh!