Sheffield — It was all about the love of reading, stories, and high-flying fun and action at the first-ever Festival of Friendship at the Bushnell-Sage Library.
The first event in the two day festival, which started on Friday, August 23, was a lecture at the library from Dr. Jess Krenek on “What is Wrestling?” Krenek, who earned her PhD from the University of Maryland’s School of Theater, Dance, and Performance Studies, wrote her dissertation project on “An ethnographic study of non-male fans of professional wrestling, examining how fandom creates and disrupts community, through lenses of gender studies, queer studies, and performance studies.”
The main events in the festival were all held on Saturday, August 24. At the beginning of the day, wrestler Ultimo Ant hosted a “Read with a Wrestler” storytime.
In the main event for the day, wrestlers from New World Wrestling Extreme l all took part in a wrestling event at the library.
“Wrestling is an art form, a sport, and live theater,” Library Director Deena Caswell said about the event. “We wanted to put together an event that is very different for the community, and hopefully brings people out that we normally don’t see at the library. There are lots of library people who are fans of wrestling, and there are wrestlers out there who find refuge in the library. One of the most important things for me is that the library is a space for everyone and is a place for everyone to feel welcome.”
A wrestling ring was set up in the backyard of the library for the matches.
“We, as wrestlers, love spreading all the good vibes,” said wrestler Vita VonStarr. “Wrestling is all about beating each other up in a friendly, supportive way, and learning in the process. To me, libraries are important because I love to read. I think there’s a lot of capacity in human potential in reading. Whether you want to learn something like a nonfiction topic that sounds cool, or you just want to escape via a fantasy book. I think everybody has the capacity to learn more, and the library is a perfect place to do it.”
Wrestler Dr. Ethan Wilde also has a PhD in social science. “It’s important to use wrestling as a way to promote things that need greater attention, including drawing attention to the existence of the library,” Wilde said, “something that seems perhaps a little bit preposterous on the surface, like a wrestling show at a library, the loud and the quiet sort of intersecting in the same space. I think it becomes self-evident when you look at the needs that a library has and then again, the need to promote it to the community.”
“Libraries are all storage vaults of a wealth of knowledge,” said wrestler Dylan Mesh. “It’s also one of the few long-standing public spaces where people can be together. But these spaces seem to be shrinking in America. I think it’s great to bring wrestling to the Berkshires and show people that there are other ways to have good times.”
For more information about the Bushnell-Sage Library and its programs, visit its website.
