In September of 2023, we hosted our first annual MC Poetry Contest Showcase to celebrate the incredible submissions we’ve received over the first two years of our youth spoken word and poetry competition. In the setting of Vancouver Island University’s beautiful theatre at their Cowichan Campus, we invited the students and our community to enjoy our favourite video submissions, listen to some local poetry, partake in tasty local refreshments, and participate in fundraising efforts for next year’s contest.
We opened with the grandson of Michael Coleman (our contest’s namesake), who read some original poetry and spoke about his grandfather and the weight of their shared name. He read two of his favourite MC poems that he felt encapsulated his view on life and poetry. After our first round of video highlights and a brief intermission, we heard from our keynote speaker, Victoria’s Poet Laureate, Marie Mataphor Specht, who performed some of her work and spoke about the beauty and importance of youth in poetry. We then wrapped up with our finale videos, the 6 winners from our two contests so far. The event was a great success and we eagerly await next year’s poetry competition and subsequent showcase.
Thank you to our event sponsors for making our first Showcase a success. Just Jake’s, Varga & Associates, Stonebridge Law, Loretta Hopkins, and VIU… We couldn’t have done it without you.