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Restaurants and breweries from Oakmont and Verona will come together in support of their local library.

The Oakmont Carnegie Library will host a Taste of Two Towns fundraiser from 5 to 7 p.m. May 7.

Patrons can sample items from more than a dozen places. There will be door prizes and raffles, too.

Food and drink will be served on the main floor, while seating and live entertainment by cellist Kelsey Boltz will be in the library’s lower level.

“Basically, I hope for good weather and that the air conditioning is working on the day of the event,” said library director Beth Mellor. Her favorite part of the event is mingling with guests, and she estimates between 165 and 225 people may attend.

The fundraising goal is about $20,000.

“It’s not a business transaction. It’s more of a social transaction,” Mellor said. “It brings people into the library who don’t normally use it. They get to see what the library’s like. They get to see the types of things we have here.”

Pittsburgh Taco Boys opened last May in Oakmont. The restaurant is in the former Burk’s BBQ along Maryland Avenue.

Being involved with the fundraiser is a de facto part of the business’ one-year anniversary.

“We’re just happy to support the public library,” said co-owner Dylan Essig of Etna. “We’re going to be bringing what we typically bring whenever we do pop-ups. We set up a little grill and make tortillas from scratch. We bring all kinds of tasty things to put on top of it. We’ll be making tacos (and) all kinds of tasty slow-cooked meats with handmade tortillas. It’s all special.

“We’re thrilled. We kind of lucked in to Oakmont, just the way that it all worked out. The community has totally embraced us as their own. We’ve met all kinds of amazing people and feel a strong sense of community here. That’s why Taste of Two Towns is so nice.

“Any time we have a chance to help out, we’re happy to.”

Other participating businesses include Acclamation Brewing, Boulevard Sweet Shoppe, Brr-Kees Ice Cream, Fox’s Pizza, Leone’s Pizza, Mighty Oak Barrel, Oakmont Bakery, Oakmont Deli, Oakmont Country Club, Oakmont Olive Oil Co., Off the Rails Barbeque & Drafthouse, The Juicery, Today’s Organic Market, Veltre’s Pizza and Zen.

All proceeds benefit the library and its programs. About 200 people visit the library each week.

“There’s always some new technology, new product that the public needs,” Mellor said. “During the pandemic, we bought Wi-Fi hot spots so people who didn’t have Wi-Fi could check them out from the library. This year, we put a lot of focus on people with vision limitations.

“We’re getting books that are published with a dyslexic font that’s supposed to be easier for people with dyslexia to read. We’re getting more large-print books. We’re getting more audio books so people who have vision issues have access to the library. We’re also thinking of redoing our signs.

“You want everybody to feel that this library is theirs and they can use it easily.”

Michael DiVittorio is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Michael at 412-871-2367, mdivittorio@triblive.com or via Twitter .