Mark your calendars: Women & Children First Bookstore to celebrate 30 years on October 3

August 14, 12:47 PMChicago Lesbian Scene ExaminerJolie du Pre

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Women & Children First c/o Jolie du Pre

My favorite Chicago bookstore is Women & Children First. They are a feminist bookstore with an incredible collection of books and other products. They also offer entertaining programming, such as their monthly Sappho's Salon.

On October 3, Women & Children First Bookstore will hold a 30th Anniversary author-studded gala. Below is the press release provided by my friend Kathie Berquist of Women & Children First.

I'll be attending the gala.  I hope to see you there.

Women & Children First Bookstore Celebrates 30 Years

October 3 Gala Features NY Times Bestselling Authors Dorothy Allison, Alison Bechdel.

( Chicago ) On Saturday, October 3, Women & Children First Bookstore ( 5233 N. Clark St .) A Chicago literary and cultural institution, and one of the oldest and largest feminist bookstores in the world, will celebrate their 30th anniversary with a gala at The Breakers, (5333 N. Sheridan Rd. Chicago), featuring appearances by special guests Alison Bechdel (author of NY Times Bestselling Graphic memoir, Fun Home, the Time Magazine’s “Best Book of 2006, ” and creator of the beloved comic strip “Dykes to Watch Out For”) and New York Times Bestselling author, Dorothy Allison (Bastard Out of Carolina, Cavedweller). Other featured guests include Master Sommelier Alpana Singh, and members of the gala’s “Writer’s Circle” including Nami Mun, Carol Anshaw, Nicole Hollander, Lisel Mueller, Gina Frangello, and many more. The gala will take place from 7 to 10, and include an auction, music, dancing, entertainment, hors d’oeuvres and cocktails, and a commemorative slideshow. A VIP reception will take place from 5-7. Standard gala tickets will be $60, VIP tickets are $100, and a special reduced price ticket is available for those supporters facing financial hardships. For more information about tickets, call 773/769-9299. 100% of the proceeds will benefit The Women’s Voices Fund, Women & Children First Bookstore’s not-for-profit programming arm.

About Women & Children First

Women and Children First Bookstore started with a dream in 1979, and has survived against the odds. Thirty years ago, Women & Children First opened as a small storefront on Armitage Ave. , in Chicago . Co-owners Ann Christophersen and Linda Bubon met as students at the University of Illinois / Chicago , in an era when women’s studies was an emerging field of academic study and women’s literary traditions were being reclaimed. Discouraged by the lack of representation of women writers they found in Chicago bookstores at the time, the two women decided to do something about it. And, they reasoned, since where there are women, there are often children, children quickly became a part of the picture as well.

Now, three decades later, Women & Children First Bookstore is located in Chicago’s popular Andersonville neighborhood, in a storefront three times the size of their original space on Armitage. In a retail culture that has seen the decline of independent bookstores in general, and feminist bookstores in particular (whose numbers have dwindled from more that 100 in 1990 to fewer than ten, nationwide, today), Women & Children First’s survival has not always been assured. In 2007, Bubon and Christophersen went public with a dire prognosis – if something didn’t change, quickly, the store was unlikely to last to the end of the year. The sad news spread like wildfire and customers old and new rallied to support the Chicago institution. Of course, this was just the beginning of the financial crisis rocking the country as a whole, and like many independent businesses across the U.S. , Women & Children First continues to struggle with economic challenges. Yet Bubon and Christophersen are gratified to see a new and bourgeoning interest in the value of locally-owned businesses and independent publishing and bookselling, and as they celebrate 30 years in business, they look forward to a dynamic and energetic future.

About the Women’s Voices Fund

Established in honor of the Women’s & Children First’s 25th anniversary in 2004, The Women’s Voices Fund endows the very active and essential programming schedule at Women & Children First. Women & Children First programming is a vital part of Chicago’s literary, feminist, and politically progressive communities, with programs that have run the gamut from marquee authors such as Alice Walker, Jhumpa Lahiri, and Joyce Carol Oates and culture-makers like Gloria Steinem, Molly Ivins, Katha Pollitt, and Margaret Cho, to specialized programming addressing feminist and politically progressive concerns; to readings celebrating Chicago’s homegrown literary community, to their popular weekly storytime for children. The Women’s Voices Fund gives WCF Books the resources they need to continue this vital contribution to local community and culture by allowing them to maintain an active schedule of readings and events without considerations for the financial viability of such programming (which is no small feat in today’s economic environment).

Women & Children First 30th Anniversary Gala

With Special Guests Dorothy Allison and Alison Bechdel

Saturday, October 3, 2009

At: The Breakers

5333 N. Sheridan Road , Chicago

VIP reception 5-7 p.m.

Gala 7-10 p.m.

Gala tickets $60

VIP tickets $100

Reduced price tickets are available.

For more information call 773/769-9299