Team poetry competition set to hit Kelowna next week
What: Sixth annual IWC Team Slam
Who: Team Sci-Fi repping the aliens and the robots, we have Natalie, Travis, Izzy, and Theoren! And on Team Fantasy riding in on their dragons is Michael, Caroline, Cassidy, and Ali
When: Thursday, March 23, 7 pm
Venue: BNA Tasting Room, 1250 Ellis Street, Kelowna
For the past six years, the Inspired Word Cafe (IWC) has offered a unique take on the poetry slam hosting their annual Team Slam in the spring of their season. A slam is a competitive event where poets perform original works to a lively and engaged audience. Unlike other poetry events, a slam is highly interactive, with the audience playing a key role as the judges for the competition.
“The event is designed to foster high calibre performances, new work by local poets, and an interactive and rowdy night of fun for the audience”, explains Emmett MacMillen, Managing Director of IWC and one of the hosts of this year’s Team Slam.
This year’s slam consists of two teams of poets: Team Fantasy and Team Sci-Fi. Together, they will compete to see which genre reigns victorious. Five randomly selected judges from the audience decide the fate of our contestants, and the general audience gets to hoot, holler, cheer, and boo as a way of expressing their opinions about the poetry and the judges’ scoring. The night will open with music from local folk duo Twin Towns, followed by a two round poetry competition. The first round is individual poems, followed by a unique second round where poets compete together with a co-written ‘team’ poem.
“This is our first time EVER where the poets at a Team Slam have worked collaboratively to write, rehearse, and perform a group poem,” says Ken, IWC collective member, and co-host for the event. “This is going to be a very cool experience of four poets on stage at the same time, reciting and performing together for their team’s victory!”
Prizes are $400 for the winning team, provided by Inspired Word Cafe, and with more sponsors for door prizes to be announced.
The storied, epic battle of Science Fiction vs. Fantasy will be decided at IWC’s Team Poetry Slam on March 23rd. Join us at the BNA Tasting Room from 7:00pm – 9:00 pm to enjoy live music from local band Twin Towns, and to find out who will reign victorious.
Show up dressed to rep your team in what is sure to be a slam for the ages as both sides fight for a cash prize. Pre-sale tickets are available for $10, or at the door for $15. Tickets can be purchased at: teamslam2023.eventbrite.ca
IWC programming is made possible by the City of Kelowna, the Faculty of Creative and Critical Studies at UBC Okanagan, and BNA Brewery.