The Printers' Ball

Tomorrow night, Friday, marks the 6th iteration of The Printer's Ball, an event founded to promote Chicago's print scene and to allow magazine, zine, and book publishers, as well as authors and readers, a chance to meet each other.  Last year's edition, which was held at Columbia College's Ludington Building, and jointly sponsored by Poetry magazine, was the biggest one yet and this one promises even more to see and do.

Highlights include giveaways of thousands of copies of magazines, books, and prints, and a DJ set by Dave Tompkins, author of How to Wreck a Nice Beach: The Vocoder from World War II to Hip-Hop, The Machine Speaks.  This performance will feature vocoder-based music as well as a special guest.  There's also a special edition of The Show 'n Tell Show, which consists of live interviews with artists and designers in a talk show format, as well as a performance by Icy Demons, who always put on a fun show.

There'll also be plenty of other things going on including letterpress, silkscreening, and papermaking demonstrations at the Center for Book and Paper Arts on the 2nd floor of the building, and video screenings.

And last, but not least, there'll be several hundred booths from Chicago magazines, publishers, and other related groups.  You can check out the full list of events and booth guests here.

The Printers' Ball
Columbia College Chicago
Ludington Building
1104 S Wabash Ave
Chicago, IL

Free for all ages

Friday, July 30, 2010
6 to 11 pm

Photographs pictured above are from the 2009 edition and were shot by Oscar Arriola.