Community members are invited to participate in one of two Big Read POEtry Contest Open Mic events on Oct. 14-15. Teen and adult poets are invited to share their poems on Friday, Oct. 14 from 5:30 to 7 p.m., at the Literacy Volunteers, 21 East Book Store and Café located at 21 East Second Street in Dunkirk. Young poets are also encouraged to share their poems on Saturday, Oct. 15 from 10 a.m., to 12:30 p.m., at the Fredonia Farmers’ Market located on Church Street in Fredonia. Both events are free to attend. All are invited to share poetry or just listen and enjoy.
Teens and adults will enjoy the relaxed atmosphere of the 21 East Book Store and Café for the first Open Mic event. 21 East offers coffee and espresso drinks as well as pastries and light lunch fare catered by the Mustard Seed. 21 East also has a great selection of gently used books available for purchase. All sales from the café and book store benefit the Literacy Volunteers of Chautauqua County.
On Saturday, young poets will control the microphone at the Fredonia Farmers’ Market Trick-or-Treat Day. Children are invited to wear their Halloween costumes, get treats from the market’s vendors, decorate a free pumpkin, and enjoy spooky stories read by Sigma Tau Delta English Honor Society members.
Contest winners will be recognized and awarded at both Open Mic events. A first and second place will be awarded for each of the four age categories: grades K-5, grades 6-8, grades 9-12, and adult. In addition, two, “Overall Grand Prize,” winners will be selected from among all the participants. An “audience favorite” will also be selected at each Open Mic event. Winning poets will receive an age appropriate collected works of Edgar Allan Poe and a gift certificate to the Book Nook in Dunkirk. Honorable mention poets will be recognized at these events as well.
The Open Mic events mark the end of the Big Read POEtry Contest, which closed on Oct. 5. The Big Read POEtry Contest invited community members of all ages to submit original macabre and spooky poems as part of Chautauqua County’s month long celebration of Poe’s works.
For more information on The Big Read, visit www.fredonia.edu/bigread or join us on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/groups/BigReadFredonia/.
