Shelley MacBeth
Blue Heron Books in Uxbridge, one of North America's finest independent bookstores, is celebrating 30 years in business. And what a celebration it is. On top of a year full of special events and community outreach initiatives owner Shelley MacBeth has launched a new festival combining her love of books with her love of music with her love of local craft brews and sharing that love among several venues in the trail capital of Canada.
The Book Drunkard Literary Festival is bookended with an evening with American author John Irving on Thursday, October 17 at the Uxbridge Music Hall and with classy Canadian children's entertainers Sharon & Bram on Sunday, Nov. 3 at the Trinity United Church. In between there is a packed shelf of local and nationally renowned authors; from musician Tom Wilson to chef Mary Berg to human rights activist Sally Armstrong and investigative journalist Robyn Doolittle. Plus special brews from the Second Wedge Brewery and Slabtown Cider Co.
The festival name is a quote from Uxbridge author Lucy Maud Montgomery (Anne of Green Gables series) and it is a great title for anyone who has been hooked on books as Shelly MacBeth has been.
But it is difficult to turn your passion into a business, and to keep it afloat for three decades, well thats another level of accomplishment altogether.
So, Shelley MacBeth, what do you attribute your longevity and success to and what advice do you have for other brick 'n mortar stores in this digital age?
SM: “I guess for me it's all about reinventing yourself constantly. And being an independent makes you very nimble. You can turn on a dime, make your own decisions, change it up.
“Not only that, it is no longer enough for brick and mortar stores to simply sit there and wait for customers to come in. You need to create an experience, something memorable. And that is much more than just handing the merchandise over the counter and taking payment!”
SC: Of course its like choosing a favourite child but what Book Drunkard events are you most excited for and why?
SM:“Well, like everyone else I'm pretty darn excited for John Irving. I have been a John Irving fan since ‘The World According to Garp’ was released 40 years ago! That said, I'm also pretty pumped for our music events, which would be dear to your heart! We have an amazing producer/sound engineer, Mark Howard, who has worked with all the greats (U2, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Bob Dylan etc) coming, as well as a literary concert with Tom Wilson of Blackie and the Rodeo Kings.
“In addition, we have a complete feminism-focused night with the Massey lecturer for this year, Sally Armstrong, delivering part of her lecture. In her 2019 CBC Massey Lectures, award-winning author, journalist, and human rights activist Sally Armstrong illustrates how the status of the female half of humanity is crucial to our collective surviving and thriving. And with her will be investigative journalist, Robyn Doolittle, with her book on the changing landscape of sexual politics.
“Finally, as the name of the festival is totally stolen from Lucy Maud Montgomery, our Nod to Maud cocktail party at the Historic Leaskdale Church with four amazing authors is bound to be pretty great. We will even have a special raspberry beer brewed ONLY for that event by The Second Wedge Brewery.
“In fact we have inspired three unique brews for our Festival. The Second Wedge is creating their first-ever lager, called the Book Drunkard beer which will be releasing very soon. This is an Oktoberfest style marzen. They're also brewing a lighter raspberry brew as I just mentioned. And one of our new cider houses, Slabtown Cider Co, is creating a brand new cider called The Cider House Rules, in honour of John Irving's visit.”
SC: Why are you a book drunkard, what is it about books that has such a hold on you? What is it the rest of us, who are not reading so much, are missing out on?
SM: “Cheap travel.
“Joking aside, in what other way could you travel in time and space to another world another year another place another time for less than thirty bucks?
“In addition, spending most of the day and the night in front of a computer screen does tend to blank out your brain. Escaping to the comfort of a book. . . bliss.”
