Alternative bookstore Mother Tongue Bookstore is closing its doors after nearly 18 years and its co-owners are going to go out with a bang.

The Old Ottawa South bookstore will host a series of weekly events every Friday featuring authors, poets, and musicians until the store closes after July 21.

Evelyn Huer, Mother Tongue co-owner, said the series of events will help give back to the community that supported it over the years and she is encouraging people to celebrate its legacy.

“I hope that they get that they’re an integral part of filling the gap that is left and I just hope they go away feeling happy for us,” said Huer.

The first event on June 22 at 7 p.m. will include a presentation by Ottawa author Elizabeth Hay and singer-songwriter Jill Zmud. Hay won a Giller Prize in 2007 for her book Late Nights on Air.

The store announced the decision to close on Tuesday after struggling with “financial pressures” and competition from big box stores and online retailers.

Huer said the shuttering of her store means people in Ottawa will lose a “place to find things that are a little bit off the beaten path.”

“We’re losing one of the meeting places in the city for poetry and literature.”