Evy Nordley Award Finalist Spotlight #2 of 3: Moorhead

Moorhead will soon be home to Minnesota’s newest library. While still under construction, this 48,000-square-foot architectural gem is already a prominent, permanent fixture in the downtown district. In April, supporters had the unique opportunity to support this generational project by getting something “prominent and permanent” of their own: a library-inspired tattoo!

The Friends of the Moorhead Library partnered with local parlor Zoltar Tattoo to create 30 themed, pre-drawn “flash tattoo” designs as part of a one-day event they titled Bookmarked! A Celebration of the Arts.

Bookmarked! was held at Swing Barrel Brew Company, another fixture of the downtown area. It evolved from separate conversations with Zoltar and Swing Barrel about coordinating a special event in support of the library.

It proved a providential pairing. Swing Barrel used Bookmarked! as a platform to launch their newest beer: Card Cata-lager – a bittersweet Vienna lager with notes of toffee and nuts. Zoltar designed the label art, with the artist commission covered by The Friends.

The Friends opted to hold Bookmarked! on April 12 to coincide with National Library Week. According to board secretary Pam Gibb, “the event was busy for the entire 10 hours it was held, starting with a long line just to schedule tattoo slots – something we had not known to expect.”

Fortunately for those waiting, there was no shortage of other things to do. In addition to beer and nonalcoholic beverages, attendees enjoyed varied on-site food choices courtesy of local vendors Sol Ave Kitchen and Duck Duck Goose. Local artists played live music.

True to form, The Friends anchored Bookmarked! with a mini book sale. Traffic and sales proved surprisingly brisk. “We actually went back to the library twice for more boxes of books to sell,” Gibb recalled.  

Organizers credit steady traffic to a broad marketing push across both Moorhead and neighboring Fargo, North Dakota. KVRR News, the Fox network affiliate out of Fargo, even interviewed library director Megan Krueger and Swing Barrel co-owner Sean Syverson about this novel pairing of “book ink and skin ink.”

The Friends contributed exactly $660.22 towards the event, with most of this expense earmarked for Zoltar’s event tattoo license and beer art commission. Book and T-shirt sales raised $1,071.25, and donations on top of those proceeds also topped $1,000. Last but not least, Zoltar contributed 40% of their flash tattoo revenue towards the new Moorhead Public Library.

In addition to these monetary benefits, The Friends also secured three members and 14 new card sign-ups for the library.