Enter a literary fantasy world with local authors, DJ, medium, and Cocktail Mary
On October 30th, the ordinary becomes extraordinary at Mechanics’ Hall. The evening will blend literary enchantment with celestial celebration. Dress as your favorite literary character or beloved author and get ready to dance until the witching hour.
The night begins with spine-chilling New England ghost stories from Rebecca Turkewitz’s new book, Here in the Night. Following this, enjoy a captivating reading from Mira Ptacin’s latest novel, The In-Betweens, which explores the history of Mysticism and Mediums in Maine. Psychic Medium Julie K. Gray will provide fascinating insights and will invite guests to our mysterious fourth-floor clerestory for an exclusive Divination with Pendulums session.
As the evening unfolds, DJ Benjamin Spalding will keep the dance floor alive, Cocktail Mary will serve refreshments, and guests can experience additional surprises, including tarot readings in the library. Join us for a night of enchantment, mystique, and revelry!
Proceeds from this event support literary programming at Mechanics’ Hall and the restoration of our building.
Tickets are available for $35 for the general public and $30 for Mechanics’ Hall Members. 21+
For an additional $50 per person, guests can participate in a small group Divination with Pendulum session:
Divination, a method of obtaining answers from realms outside of ourselves, has been used since the beginning of civilization. Crystal balls, smoke, automatic writing, runes, numerology, tarot, and pendulums are some of the tools used to connect with our higher selves (or the powers beyond) in order to answer questions about our life paths. Discover with Rev. Julie K. Gray how to use pendulums to gain access to answers, inspiration, clarity, and healing with the use of these divination tools (pendulums will be provided). What does the universe have to share with you?
ABOUT THE MEDIUM
Rev. Julie K. Gray is an ordained Spiritualist Minister, Psychic Medium, and artist based in southern Maine. Her natural abilities to speak with Spirit have been handed down through her Latvian ancestors, but because of a near-death incident in 2009, she began her journeys into Spiritualism and mediumship. She earned her BFA in Photography from Rhode Island School of Design in 2005, her MFA in Studio Art from Maine College of Art in 2012, and has served Spirit in churches and Spiritualist Camps in both Maine and New York.
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
Mira Ptacin is the author of the award-winning memoir Poor Your Soul (Soho Press, 2016), which was named a best book of the year by Kirkus Books, where it received a rare “starred” review. She’s also the author of the genre-blending book of feminist history, memoir, and ethnography, The In-Betweens: The Spiritualists, Mediums, and Legends of Camp Etna (Liveright-W.W. Norton, 2019), which the New York Times lauded as the best book to read during a pandemic. Mira’s writing frequently appears or is forthcoming in The Atavist, The New York Times, New York Times Book Review, Vogue, Poets and Writers, Harper’s, Tin House, Down East, LitHub, and more. She received her MFA from Sarah Lawrence College, where she was editor-at-large of their literary magazine, LUMINA. Mira lives on Peaks Island, Maine, and is currently working on her next book.
Rebecca Turkewitz is a writer and high school English teacher living in Portland, Maine. She is the author of the story collection Here in the Night, which was a finalist for the Maine Literary Award and named one of Debutiful’s Best Debuts of 2023. Her fiction and humor have appeared or are forthcoming in Best American Mystery and Suspense 2024, Alaska Quarterly Review, Electric Literature, Best Microfiction 2024, The New Yorker’s Daily Shouts, and elsewhere. She holds an MFA in fiction from The Ohio State University. Here in the Night, which Publisher’s Weekly called “a triumph,” is a collection of thirteen eerie tales that explore the joys and constraints of womanhood, of queerness, and of intimacy. Preoccupied with all manner of hauntings, these stories traverse a boarding school in the Vermont woods, the jagged coast of Maine, an attic in suburban Massachusetts, an elevator stuck between floors, and the side of an unlit highway in rural South Carolina.
ABOUT THE DJ
Benjamin Spalding is an artist and DJ living in Portland, Maine. Inspired by dance music’s queer roots, he plays a variety of tracks, ranging from pumping disco, sultry house, and leftfield techno. He plays across Portland at various venues, and is currently the resident DJ for Cocktail Mary’s party Loverboi.
ABOUT THE PARTNERS
Not only is Cocktail Mary one of the best cocktail bars in Portland, Maine, but they are a proud LGBTQ+ community hub. Founded in 2019 at the foot of Munjoy Hill as a queer, lesbian, and gay bar, welcoming folx of all creeds to their East End bar. Check their calendar for regular events like DJ sets, dance parties, drag shows, pop-ups, and collabs.
Back Cove Books is Portland’s newest indie bookstore! Visit them in the Oddfellow’s Block of Woodford’s Corner.
Sponsored by The Boulos Company, Thomas Urquhart, Maine Writers’ & Publishers’ Alliance & Scattergood Design
