Richard Miller, executive director of the Osterhout Free Library, prepares martinis for visitors at the Brewsterhout Annual Rooftop Party.
Patrick Kernan | Times Leader
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WILKES-BARRE — The Brewsterhout Annual Rooftop Party, held each year as a benefit for the Osterhout Free Library, had an incredibly successful night on Friday.
The library managed to sell out all of its roughly 450 tickets, according to Amber Loomis, director of development and community relations for the library, with tickets running at $25 each.
The annual rooftop party takes over the top floor of the parking garage of LCTA’s Intermodal Transit Center, allowing guests to check out food and, as the name implies, beer and other drinks from some of the area’s best known breweries.
Loomis told a reporter that it’s great to bring the event back for its 12th year, after it had to be foregone last year.
“We weren’t able to have it last year because of COVID, so we’re just super pumped to be back,” she said. “It’s a way to raise awareness for the library, but we also want to showcase and highlight all the wonderful restaurants in the area, so the celebration is really about them, as well.”
And the event certainly did highlight plenty of businesses, with more than 30 food and beer vendors offering their goods to get the party going. Food vendors included everything from Amberdonia Bakery to Eden Franco’s Pizzeria to Vesuvio’s, and plenty in between.
Beer was provided by 2 Dogs & A Guy Brewing, Benny Brewing Co., Breaker Brewing Co. and Susquehanna Brewing Co., along with donations being made by Northeast Eagle Distributors.
And it wasn’t all just food and beer: Guests got to take a try at axe-throwing, thanks to Axe Attack, and hear a lively mix of music provided by DJ Josh Beats.
Loomis said that events like Friday’s are hugely important for the library, saying it helps providing vital resources, including some you might not have thought of.
“When you think of the library, you think of books and DVDs, which are incredibly vital resources,” she said. “But there’s so much more to the library. For instance, we’re now checking out (WiFi) hotspots to patrons … and individuals are using it to pay bills, apply for jobs and get their college applications in, so it’s really been a proven resource for the community.”
Executive Director Richard Miller — who graciously agreed to speak to a reporter despite slinging wine and martinis to patrons himself — agreed with Loomis, saying these events are vital.
“Roughly a third of our budget is based on fundraising and donations, endowments and things like that” he said. “Since we’re not as fortunate as some libraries to have strong local government support, the library has to do a lot of fundraising.”
If you’re looking for more information, regarding either the library’s resources of how to make some of those important donations, go to osterhout.info.