NORMAN — The Pioneer Library System Foundation invites the community to its second annual fall fundraiser, Literally Yours, from 6 to 8 p.m. Nov. 5 at LOCAL, a new restaurant concept that prepares seasonal, locally sourced Oklahoma fare, at 2262 W. Main St. in Norman.
The evening of literature, libations and culinary creations will feature signature cocktails by Milwaukee-based mixologists Ira Koplowitz and Nick Kosevich.
Paired with a three-course meal prepared especially for the occasion by renowned Chef Ryan Parrott of LOCAL, the evening will be a rare treat for every guest’s palate.
The theme of the evening will be centered on the 2013 selected Big Read novel, “Old School,” by Tobias Wolff.
Tickets, patterned after the Patron Secret Dining Society, are $100 each and are available exclusively through the PLS Foundation.
Fifty dollars of each ticket qualifies as a tax-deductible gift to the foundation. The value of in-kind or monetary contributions may be eligible for tax credit as donations to a nonprofit organization.
The event will be a homecoming for Koplowitz, who grew up in Norman before later taking his bartending talents to the Chicago area. In 2009, he and Kosevich founded Bittercube, which utilizes the pair’s bartending talents for a variety of services, including cocktail classes and dinners, parties and themed cocktails, as they’ll be doing for Literally Yours.
The pair have been featured in media outlets throughout the country, including Martha Stewart’s Everyday Food, Playboy, Imbibe Magazine, Timeout, Chicago Tribune, Bloomberg BusinessWeek, GO — AirTran Inflight Magazine, Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, NPR and Daily Candy.
Parrott, who is preparing the meal for the event, has a long history with establishments in the region. At age 19, he was appointed kitchen manager at Tommy’s Italian in north Oklahoma City and also has had positions at locales like the Petroleum Club, Switzer’s Lighthouse, Boulevard Steakhouse, 501 Ranch Steakhouse, The Mantel, Deep Fork Grill and the Iguana Mexican Grill.
Guests will have the opportunity to learn about plans and activities of the foundation, as well as obtain a preview of The Big Read 2013.
Inaugurated in 2011 with the one-act play “Strange Business,” put on by author Rilla Askew and actor Paul Austin, Literally Yours is an upscale evening of food, drink and literature created to raise awareness and funding for the PLS Foundation.
During Fiscal Year 2011-2012 the Foundation helped support the 2012 Summer Reading Program in all 10 PLS branch libraries, in addition to the PLS Big Read featuring author Amy Tan.
For more information, call the PLS Development Office at 701-7661 or go to the Foundation website, foundation.pls.lib.ok.us.
For local news and more, subscribe to The Norman Transcript Smart Edition, or our print edition.
Probe Begins After Conn. Commuter Trains Crash
NTSB Begins Investigation Into Conn. Train Crash
Lotto Fever Sweeps the Country
Conn. Commuter Trains Collide; 60 Go to Hospital
Coffee Run Leads to Hatchet Hitchhiker Arrest
Fmr. IRS Head Insists No Politics in Targeting
CDC: Fecal Bacteria Common in Swimming Pools
$1 Million in Jewels Stolen at Cannes Film Fest
NM Mom Chases Down Child Abductor
Raw: Crash Sends Car Into Fla. Pool
Raw: Obama Sits Down With Elementary Kids
Raw: Bear Falls From Tampa Tree
Ousted IRS Chief: Errors Not Caused by Politics
Terror Suspect Due in Court in Idaho Friday
Raw: Driver Ejected From Truck, Over Bridge
Could Tobacco Be the Next Biofuel?
Wash. State Releases Draft Rules for Legal Pot
Dying Man's Blinks Lead to Murder Conviction
Officials: Texas Tornado Likely Had 200 Mph Wind
Brothers Arrested in NOLA Parade Shooting
