What's Boise Zine Fest?
A zine fest is a place where a broad range of creators gather to buy, sell, trade, & ultimately share their "zines," which are generally physical, print-based creations spanning a panoply of styles & subject matter.
Zine fests are like a box of chocolates.
While print media is the primary focus, many of the featured artists' creativity extends beyond the print realm. So there could be other trinkets & items available to peruse and/or purchase as well — buttons, posters, prints, shirts, and so on.
We certainly love highlighting the creative potential & diverse range of zines being created in Idaho (& beyond), but we also love highlighting local artists.
When & Where Is Boise Zine Fest Taking Place?
We're super grateful that the wonderful people at Karuna Kava are letting us host our event in their gorgeous space this year!
They're located at 5220 N Sawyer Ave Boise, ID 83714.
The event takes place from 1 PM to 4 PM.
Local artists will be present at the event with their creations. These creations will be available for sale. (Some artists might also be interested in trading for zines that you have created!)
The overarching goal of Boise Zine Fest is to bring together and help strengthen the art community in Boise and the surrounding areas.
The artists in attendance will be announced prior to the event! If you're interested in bringing some zines (& maybe some other creations) to sell at the zine fest, fill out this form :-)
What's A "Zine"?
Zines — short for "magazines" — are uniquely rooted in counterculture & DIY ethics.
But these days, a "zine" can refer to nearly any printed media or digital print-like media created by one or a few people.
All subjects, art styles, & production methods are essentially fair game.
If that sounds overly-inclusive: good! Like "art" in general, zines are a fluid medium ever-shifting to fit any mold.
Zines are for artists, creators, & writers, but they're also for people that don't write, draw, or write. Anybody with an idea or a story can (and should ;) make a zine.
Historically, zines have been copied cheaply, distributed locally, and produced in small numbers. But with printing & publishing becoming more accessible, the sky is really the limit.
Photocopying content -- whether collages, hand-drawn art, poetry, fictional stories, reviews or anything else -- is always in style.
But many creators also enjoy ditching pens & pencils to create art digitally.
Everybody possesses the ability to create a never-before-seen zine that will undoubtedly be enjoyed by somebody.
Are you a photographer? You can compile your zines into a mini-gallery or portfolio of sorts to show off your most treasured shots.
Do you have unique (or uniquely mundane) life experiences that you can solidify in writing to share with the world? Create a simple text-only zine to immortalize those experiences forever (or as long as a copy exists, somewhere).
Have you been teaching yourself a new skill, or have you been perfecting a skill for years? Zines are a perfect medium to pass on knowledge to friends and strangers.
We've even come across scholarly, research-intensive zines delving into bizarre topics that you probably wouldn't run into if someone didn't
What's Kava?
Good question! Since we're just zine people and not kava people, we'll defer to Karuna's website for this one (emphasis ours) —
Kava. Yanqona. ‘Awa. ‘Ava. Malok. The plant goes by many names, and there are many sub-variants of the Kava plant.
For over 3000 years, people throughout the South Pacific Islands have cultivated and enjoyed kava for the properties contained in the roots.
Kava has both ceremonial and social importance as a medicine, social tool, and enjoyable beverage.
The roots of the Kava plant are rich in compounds called kavalactones. These kavalactones are responsible for our kava’s uniquely relaxing, stress relieving, mood boosting, and mind sharpening properties.
While our kava is consumed for enjoyment and leisure, many find kava assists with a wide variety of issues, including stress and sleep difficulties. Athletes enjoy kava for its ability to assist after hard workouts.
New studies continue to show additional benefits from specific kavalactones; for instance, Flavokavain-A was recently found to potentially assist in the fight against certain lung cancers. Source
