Vashon Poetry Festival 2017 kicks off its two day schedule of events with a Communi-ty Poetry Reading Open Mic at the Bike on Friday, May 12th. This year’s special guests, Washington State Poet Laureate Tod Marshall, and Seattle Civic Poet Claudia Castro Luna, will be at Red Bicycle Bistro & Sushi at 8pm to get the informal evening going and open the festival with a poem. Then it’s your turn to read one of yours. All ages are invited to read an original poem in a two minute spot onstage. This year’s fes-tival is all about celebrating our shared connection through words: weaving words that bring us together.
The evening also features musical interludes by Allison Shirk and J D Hobson, to keep the lyrics and libations flowing. Vashon Poets Laureate Cal Kinnear, Lonny Kaneko, and Majiah Sanson-Frey will join other local poets reciting in signature styles. Young poets are encouraged to bring it. This will be a lively evening of island wit, wisdom, and word-play, whetting appetites for Saturday’s poetry workshops around town, and the guests of honor’s closing night reading at VCA.