QWERTYFEST MKE 2024 Typing Stations Revealed!

The QWERTYFEST MKE Typewriter Ball (5-10pm, Friday, June 21 at Turner Hall) will have lots of stuff for you to try out, including the DarkFusion Systems Gaming Lounge, The Splendid Mailbox mailing station, and the OnMilwaukee Tyipng Stations. These will be located on the second-floor balcony of Turner Hall, and it's a chance for you to get a feel for a variety of typers from different decades with some fun writing prompts. You can see an example, Typewriter Station #1, if you scroll below, but you'll have to see what the others are about in person. 

1. Reagan v. Sholes (see below)
2. Create Your Own "Kerning LIfe" Comic Dialog
3. Typewriter Movies (we recycled this one from our screening of California Typewriter earlier this month)
4. Ode to Bats
5. Psychic Detective Roberts Predicts...
6. Lurv Letter
7. My Favorite Thing About Summer
8. Morjjg the Martian
9. Training to be a Quick Brown Fox 

Get your tickets to the Typewriter Ball here: ​QWERTYFEST MKE 2024 | Buy Tickets | Ticketbud

Saturday, June 22: Whisky Type Party (7pm, Great Lakes Distillery)
At our QF after party, we're having a free event featuring Carolyn Wynnack (creator of The Whisky Type site) and a performance by Vox Darling. Food and drink will be available, and we encourage you to bring your typewriter if you'd like to write.  

Some suggested prompts:
-Whiskey Noir: write a short, page long story about a whiskey swilling detective on the case to recover a millionaire's stolen prized possession...a typewriter, of course. 
-Vox Starling Song: Write some lyrics for the band to consider. Maybe it'll be a hit!


Sunday, June 23: Typewriter Brunch Open Jam (11am-2pm, X-Ray Arcade)
Typewriter Brunch was fun last year, so we brought it back. The concept is simple-- bring your typewriter (or a pad and pen), order brunch from X-Ray Arcade, hang out and type. We'll also have a couple Scrabble boards and X-Ray has some great vintage arcade games. 

Some suggested prompts: 
-Ode to Brunch: a haiku, limerick, acrostic, free form poem, or whatever...tell us about your favorite brunch!
-Dear Sham 69: Later the same evening, X-Ray Arcade will have a show with English punk legends Sham 69 (along with No Consent and The Grovelers). They've been doing the punk thing since the 70s and had a hit song with "If the Kids Are United." We just think it would be fun if Sham 69 rolls up and has a pile of typewritten letters welcoming them to Milwaukee waiting for them.