Hardscrabble Café presents CROSSROADS, a solo exhibition by Steve ‘Stingo’ Badauskas featuring over 30 drawings, paintings, and sculptures.

CROSSROADS runs from Friday, July 17 to Friday, August 14, 2026 at Inside Town Art Collective.

CROSSROADS will unveil a large cache of Badauskas’ abstract pieces in a variety of mediums, shown publicly for the first time.

Generally in pen and marker, other pieces employ paints–watercolor and oils–with the casual found art object assembled from ephemera and leftover supplies.

Hardscrabble Café is delighted to parade a rich timeline of Badauskas’ work, in full appreciation of his macabre sense of humor and striking visual aesthetic, saturated in the charming perspective of a lifelong Chicagoan.

CROSSROADS is on view from Friday, July 17 through August 14 at Inside Town Art Collective @insidetown 1954 S. Troy St. 3rd Floor.

Join our community in celebrating Badauskas at the opening reception on Friday July 17th from 7PM to 11PM, with the artist present.

Live music, refreshments, and good times will accompany the art.

On view until August 14th by appointment, please contact us at cafehardscrabble@gmail.com

Hardscrabble Cafe will be at Trashland Zine Fest, hosted by Hatch Comics

Okay more like the border of Ridgewood, Queens, but who’s really checking? It was founded by comics and zine lover/hoarder Rachel Adler, who has been involved in the small press and publishing world for years. After graduating with a BFA in Cartooning, Rachel started to get more involved with the self publishing world and made connections around the country with bookstores, indie publishers, and anyone with a general love of photocopying images together. In 2018, they started the Trashland Zinefest at The Footlight bar in Ridgewood, that would go on to become an all day affair with food, music, and a donation based entry for the venue and local charities. Always in an accessible and safe space, Trashland would go on for a second year in 2019, but unfortunately due to the Covid-19 pandemic, a 3rd year was unable to happen. Now, we have moved to Chicago, another city with a deep love and appreciation for all things small press and handmade.

Returning for a 3rd (or is it 1st?) year now in Chicago, Trashland Zinefest operates to spread the joys of self publishing at any skill level and age. We will be at the Empty Bottle, located at 1035 N Western Ave, Chicago, IL on July 12th, 2026. We are THRILLED to have official sponsors for this event, with interactive booths and vendors filling the event space. Follow online @trashland_zinefest for updates, or email thehatchcomic@gmail.com for questions. Please note that all vendors and attendees MUST be 21+ to enter!

Learn more here: https://www.trashlandzinefest.com/

Pretty Good Fest is an independent comics & small press festival - a one-day chance to meet 100+ artists & publishers from Chicago & beyond!

Pretty Good Fest is a comics & small press festival in Chicago for cartoonists, small press publishers, book artists, and zine-makers.

Hosted by Perfectly Acceptable Press
Find more information here

On Saturday, October 21 the Chicago Printers Guild will hold its 5th annual Publishers Fair at Co-Prosperity in Bridgeport, the home of Printers Row and typeface Cooper Black. The print market features over 30 local printmakers sharing their self-published posters, zines, shirts, tote bags and more. All for print and print for all!

Saturday, October 21, 2023

12am – 6pm • Free Admission

The Chicago Printers Guild was organized in 2009 to unite fine art printmakers, commercial printers and print lovers alike through meetups, workshops and exhibitions. Monthly activities include studio visits, private tours of museum and university print archives, and our monthly HALFTONE RADIO SUPER SHOW on Lumpen Radio.

Find out how you can join in at ChicagoPrintersGuild.org.

Full list of Vendors can be found HERE
Find the event HERE

We’re pleased to announce our 8th annual ZINEmercado #Zine Fest at @Comfort_Station in Logan Square, Chicago. 35 exhibitors from Chicago and beyond will be presenting #zines, #books, #art and more on Sunday, August 27, 2023 from 11am to 6pm. Admission is always FREE! • 📚 😀

• ZM is organized by @oscararriola , @CHemaSkandal , and @manny_suena

Learn more here: ZINEmercado

Hardscrabble Cafe will be grilling and chilling on the patio at Maria’s, hosted by Broke Burger Boys.

Featuring our publications, and an exciting curated selection of local zines and comics by local Chicago and southside creators!

Drink & Draw with Alex starting at 6PM.

Chicago Zine Fest is a celebration of small press and independent publishers, with an annual festival of workshops, events, and the big expo day where 250+ zinesters sell and trade their zines. All our events are free and open to the public.

Learn more here: Chicago Zine Fest 2023

Founded in 2008, MZF is an annual explosion of zine-focused wonder in the form of a boisterous festival featuring over 70 vendors from across the country.  It's always free to attend, and always super fun for all ages.

The single day event is held at the Central Branch of Milwaukee Public Library, and packed with opportunities to explore and purchase various forms of DIY and independent publishing presented by diverse artists, writers, illustrators, photographers, poets--and more!

Learn more here

Join us for the Iowa City Expo for Comics and Real Eclectic Media (ICE CREAM) fair presenting the work of cartoonists, zinesters, and art books / handmade book artists.

Enter the Litscape, our curated literary programming presented on Friday and Saturday. Featuring readings in retailers and venues around downtown during the Lit Walk, our annual indie book fair, ICE CREAM comics and zine fair, and additional readings and conversations.

Learn more here

Perfectly Acceptable Press & Bred Press Pressent………
ZINE NOT DEAD 19 - a new comics reading series

Tickets at www.zinenotdead.com !!!

readings & performances by……
TOMMI PARRISH
CAROLINE CASH
KELLY WANG
GABRIEL MASON HOWELL
AUBREY GALLACHER
LEE SCHULDER
ALEX & HANNAH LARSON NALL

Learn more here