Dance to benefit bookstore

"Dress to impress in your best country duds!" reads Boxcar Books' invitation for its first annual Homecoming Hoedown fund-raiser, which will take place at 9 p.m. Saturday at the Harmony School Gym, 909 E. 2nd St.\nAfter success with a prom-themed fund-raiser last spring, Boxcar Books is at it again with a Homecoming dance, said sophomore Corinna Manion, who regularly volunteers at the store. The proceeds from the dance will support Boxcar Books and its volunteer projects.\n"It's kind of like playing off of high school dances. It has the same kinds of themes and traditions," Manion said. "It should be a lot of fun."\nPrior to the dance, Boxcar Books has planned a gathering at the Ninth Street Park, which will feature a potluck picnic starting at 1 p.m., with a kickball game at 2 p.m. Both events are open to the public.\nBoxcar Books is a cooperative nonprofit bookstore run by volunteers from the Bloomington community. It sports a wide collection of social and political literature, much of which is produced by independent presses. \n"Our goal as an organization is to progress education, help the independent press and to get a lot of information and ideas and writers out there that you just don't usually come by," said co-founder Matthew Turissini. "We carry about 100 different magazines. We are the main distributor for 'zines in town. We have a lot of graphic novels and comics."\nTurissini opened the store in early 2002 with Ali Haimson.\nThe Randys, Kid Kazooey and the Ballroom Roustabouts will provide the live music. DJ Wolfgang will also spin at the event.\n"It's going to be a good time," Turissini said. "For anybody who knows the bands and the DJ, it is going to be really good music. Most people are dressing up and just wearing their best country duds."\nA portion of the proceeds will support the local extension of the Midwest Pages to Prisoners Project, which is run out of Boxcar Books. This volunteer organization distributes books to local penitentiaries. \n"The goal of the program is to help people educate themselves while they are in prison and help the rehabilitation process," Turissini said. "We currently receive 100 letters a week from prisoners for books."\nThe Midwest Pages for Prisoners Project meets at Boxcar Books at 8 p.m. Thursdays, 310A Washington St. During the meetings, volunteers assemble 75 to 100 packages of books to send to prisoners. A large percentage of the books are donated by individuals, but educational materials are purchased for prisoners upon request.\n"We get requests for just about everything from fiction to religion to high level math to trades like air-conditioner repair," said Turissini. "Probably the most highly requested thing is dictionaries and Spanish to English dictionaries -- stuff people use either to learn English or another language."\nBoxcar Books also has a free meeting room available for community forums. It currently plays host to the Social Justice and Change Discussion Group, the Circle of Sustainable Living, the Vegan Community Project and the Experienced Bookbinding Class. For more information about the meeting times for these groups and how to join them, visit www.boxcarbooks.org or call Boxcar Books at 339-8710.\n"We hope to make enough from the dance to help start some new projects," said store volunteer Erin Tobey, a Bloomington resident and a Boxcar Books volunteer. \nThe store is currently working on expanding its new audio-video rental section, which contains what Tobey describes as "more radical/political documentary videos and CDs."\nManion said that last year's prom fund-raiser at Vertigo was very successful, but she attributes some of the success to its bar setting. \n"We wanted to have an all-ages fund-raiser this time," said Manion.\nSupporting Boxcar Books by attending Homecoming Hoedown activities will help to ensure that its volunteer projects can continue, Tobey said. \nTickets for the Homecoming Hoedown will be available at the door for $6 a person or $10 a couple. Kids under 12 can enter for free. The picnic and the kickball game are free. Haimson asked that those who attend contribute a dish to the picnic.\n-- Contact staff writer Jenica Schultz at jwschult@indiana.edu.