Sheffield — An event involving professional wrestling at a public library sounds like a very unusual mix. But for Deena Caswell, library director of the Bushnell-Sage Library, it is not so strange at all. Caswell has teamed up with wrestling promotion company Wrestling is Everything for a free wrestling-themed series of events on Friday, August 23, and Saturday, Aug. 24.
“Previously, other libraries across the country did similar wrestling-themed events,” Caswell told The Berkshire Edge. “I reached out to the Louisville Public Library and asked if they could put me in contact with an organizer to show me how they did this. I’m sure that, on the face of it, libraries and professional wrestling teaming up together seems like mixing chocolate and peanut butter when it comes to activities. But I am a fan of professional wrestling. While it may surprise people, there are a lot of librarians out there who are fans of professional wrestling. And, I don’t want to get the word out too much, but there are some librarians out there who wrestle under wrestling masks.”
“To me, wrestling is an art form just like jazz and baseball,” said Wrestling is Everything promoter Chris Hale. “We come out of carnivals and logging camps. We have our languages and traditions. Wrestling is about good storytelling. When it’s most satisfying, it’s about heroes and villains. You can find these kinds of stories all in a library. To me, this is why a wrestling event at a library is a perfect fit: That is where we read all our stories.”
The series of events starts on Friday, August 23, at 4 p.m., with 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.” “She was a wrestling fan first, but her doctoral thesis explored wrestling, particularly from a female fan’s perspective, as an art form where our bodies are on display,” Hale said. “Jess is a fabulous academic, and I wanted to start the weekend with an entry into the library world through a wrestling-themed academic event.”
The main event will be on Saturday, August 24, starting at 10 a.m., with “The Festival of Friendship.”
The festival will include a “Wrestlers Storytime” with readings by various wrestlers from the promotion company, including Ryan Zane.
At 1 p.m., wrestlers will all participate in a series of matches, including a 12-team trios tag event, Ashton Adonis going against Jake Omen, and other matches.
The whole series of events is a benefit for the Bushnell-Sage Library. “We want to raise a bunch of money to help children make art and take part in programs at the library,” Hale said. “We intend to teach lessons at this event. It’ll be somewhere between ‘Schoolhouse Rock’ and the moral ‘Knowing is half the battle’ lessons on G.I. Joe. We will have a bunch of big biker bullies who are going to teach about bullying, I have a bunch of creepy cheaters who are going to be teaching about honesty. The idea is to inspire children to help them find their inner powers.”
“This is in line with how we like to promote reading, promote the library, and make it accessible for everyone,” Caswell said. “If you don’t think that the library is a place for you or your family, we want to blow those preconceived notions up and let everyone know that, maybe you haven’t come to the library in years, but maybe you’ll come to see that the library is for everyone.”
