ALBANY WORD FEST

In celebration of National Poetry Month, Albany Poets is proud to present the 2007 Albany Word Fest featuring the poetry, spoken word, and music of upstate New York. This year’s event will take place on Friday, April 20 and Saturday, April 21, 2007.

The 2007 Albany Word Fest will start off on Friday night with a cocktail party at Tess’ Lark Tavern (453 Madison Ave.) at 5:00PM. This is a chance for all of the poets and performers to get together and talk with each other before the event begins. This is open to all. Must be 21 or older to drink.

At 7:00PM, the poetry and spoken word begins at the Friday Night Open Mic at the UAG Gallery (247 Lark Street).

"We are hoping for this open mic to be our biggest and best yet," says Thom Francis, President of Albany Poets. "In previous years we have had over 50 poets perform at the open mic and this year we are hoping for at least twice that number and by looking at the online sign up list so far, we are well on our way"

Poets who wish to participate in the open mic will be able to sign up online by going to the Albany Word Fest website. Performers will also have an opportunity to sign up at the event itself. Each poet will have three minutes to share their work. The open mic is open to all poets and spoken word artists with no style or content restrictions. Admission is based on donation.

On Saturday afternoon, day two of the Albany Word Fest begins at Tess’ Lark Tavern for spoken word, music, and art with a special edition of Experimental Cabaret, starting at 3:00PM. This event, hosted by Nicole Peyrafitte, will feature multi-media work from local poets and musicians. Performing at this event will be Mary Panza with Monica Roach and John Weiler, Mother Judge and Nicole Peyrafitte, and Thom Francis with Jared Funari and K.J. Spencer. This event is open to all. Admission is based on donation. Must be 21 or older to drink.

At 8:00PM, we move to Valentines (17 New Scotland Ave.) for Psycho Cluster F*#k ’07, featuring music and spoken word from Sean Baxter, A.C. Everson, Debora Bump, Palatypus, The Fire Flies, Tom McWatters, and Princess Mabel.

"I can't even believe how great this show is going to be" Harith Abdullah, Music Director and board member for Albany Poets, says. "The past two years were really learning experiences for everyone involved. This time, I think we're much more on our feet. We know what we want from the show and, possibly more importantly, we know how to pull it off. I love all the bands that are playing -- they're among my favorites -- as well as the poets we have lined up. I think there's little chance for this to be any less than incredible."

Admission for this event is $5.00. This event is 18+. Must be 21 or older to drink.

The 2007 Albany Word Fest is sponsored by Albany Poets, Tess’ Lark Tavern, UAG Gallery, Valentines, and the very generous donations of supporters of the arts in upstate New York.