Poets in the Park 2016

Saturday, 25 June 2016, 11:00 am to 6:00 pm — FREE!

Anderson Park    |    7802 168th Ave NE    |    Redmond, Washington

Join us for Poets in the Park! Readings this year again feature groups and organizations, but with readings shortened to 25-minute slots. We also have 55-minute workshops, our book fair, vendors open-mic readings, and more—and it’s all free! If you have questions, please contact Michael Dylan Welch.     +

Enjoy poetry readings and performances on our Café  and Picnic Shelter stages, workshops in our workshop cabin, and activities, installations, and vendors throughout the park, plus our poetry book fair (coordinated by Rebecca Willow, with no commission taken)—all FREE! Bring your own lunch to enjoy on the lawn or in our café area. Poetry putt-putt (mini-golf), chalk poetry, hula hoops, Haiku on Sticks, poetry walk, art/craft activities for kids and adults (sponsored by VALA Art Center and Jim Teeters), RASP poetry anthology poems on sticks, and more!

See the Facebook invite. Tweet to #poetsinthepark.

See below for the schedule, individual and group participants, book fair information, and more.

Sponsored by the Redmond Arts & Culture Commission and the Redmond Association of Spokenword, directed by Michael Dylan Welch. Additional thanks to Rebecca Willow, Sammamish Kiwanis, Redmond Kiwanis, and all our volunteers.

Read about Poets in the Park 2014 and Poets in the Park 2015—photos, schedule, participants, vendors, and more.

Poets in the Park 2016 Photos

See what Poets in the Park was like! These photos, by Michael Dylan Welch, are from Saturday, 25 June 2016, 11:00 am to 6:00 pm. See event photos.

Location/Parking

Anderson Park is located at 7802 168th Avenue NE in Redmond, Washington. You’ll find plenty of free street parking (come early to park closer to the event). You can also park in the church parking lot immediately to the east of the park (yes, this is okay). Additional parking available at the Old Redmond Schoolhouse Community Center, about two blocks away at 16600 NE 80th Street in Redmond.

Book Fair

Our gratitude to Rebecca Willow for facilitating our no-commission book fair, in the Adair cabin. Just bring your poetry-related publications to sell at the book fair, fill out the book fair inventory form (view or download PDF file—please do this before Saturday if you can), and enjoy the festival! Put a price list next to your publications, or mark each one with a price. Check in at the end of the day to pick up unsold books.

2016 Schedule

Don’t miss a moment of our many readings and performances at our Café and Picnic stages, and the Fullard Cabin. Come early to catch it all! Bring your own lunch. All sessions end five minutes before the next session. All events and activities are free.

Saturday, 25 June 2016, 11:00 am to 6:00 pm

Activities/Installations

Haiku on Sticks (view poems by Haiku Northwest members)

Poetry Putt-Putt (mini golf, sponsored by Kiwanis)

Poetry on Sticks (view poems from the RASP poetry anthology, Here, There, and Everywhere)

Chalk Art (by Pamela Denchfield)

Art Activities (sponsored by VALA Art Center)

My Goldfish Stole the Moon: Poetry Fun (sponsored by Jim Teeters, with book-making craft activities for kids)

Groups and Organizations

Band of Poets

Black Heron Press

City of Redmond

4Culture

Haiku Northwest

Jack Straw Writers

LiTFUSE

MoonPath Press

PageBoy Magazine

Raven Chronicles

Redmond Association of Spokenword

Redmond Historical Society

Rose Alley Press

StringTown

Striped Water Poets

VALA Art Center

and more!

Individuals (scheduled performers)

History

Read about Poets in the Park 2014 and Poets in the Park 2015—photos, schedule, participants, vendors, and more.

Michael Dylan Welch started the Poets in the Park conference in 2004, and the first two conferences were held at Marymoor Park’s Clise Mansion in Redmond, Washington, sponsored by the Redmond Association of Spokenword. These well-attended events took place in April of 2004 and March of 2005. The 2014 revival of this event took place at Redmond’s Anderson Park, cosponsored by the City of Redmond and the Redmond Association of Spokenword, as more of a social and poetry reading/performance event, with fewer workshops. Bring a blanket and picnic lunch to enjoy on the park lawns while listening to poetry at the next Poets in the Park!

Poets in the Park was one of Michael’s proposed duties as the 2013–2014 and 2014–2015 poet laureate of the city of Redmond.

See archived websites for the 2004 and 2005 Poets in the Park conferences. See Seattle Post-Intelligencer story about the 2004 conference.