03/26/2026
March 26 through the 29th Ventura County Poetry Festival
Studio Channel Islands Art Center
2222 Ventura Boulevard, Camarillo
info and tickets here:
https://events.humanitix.com/ventura-county-poetry-festival-2026
Thursday, March 26th
5:30 – 6:00 p.m.
Opening Reception - Main Gallery - FREE
Formal welcoming to the festival in the main gallery, including a dedicatory �performance by Mary Ann McFadden, Ventura County Poet Laureate.
Mary Ann McFadden – Warming the Orchards
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EHzvIaZoLl0
6:00 – 8:00 p.m. FREE
Art & Poetry Artist Studios (Map will be provided in Main Gallery)
Collaborations between SCIART artists and poets taking place in artist studios, �featuring the art of Mollie Doctrow, Judith Hopkins, Mary McGill, Julia Pinkham and�the poetry of Ron Fullerton, Jennifer Kelley, Crystal AC Salas and Phil Taggart.
Crystal AC Salas - Poseia Para la Gente
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hypfSNhOkcI
Ron Fullerton
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tObSRvXkPR4
Jennifer Kelley
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9-E5fy4P2q4
Phil Taggart
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zv67gqaFjZ0
Friday, March 27th
5:30 – 7:00 p.m.
Cocktail Hour Main Gallery FREE
Sip themed drinks and spark conversation with strangers. Explore the gallery, write some poetry, and connect with community.
drinks are available for a nominal cost
7:30 – 9:00 p.m.
Festival Slam Main Gallery $15/$5*
Eight poets will compete in a standard slam format for a cash prize.
Featuring a guest performance from 2025 Festival Slam winner, Kali Bennett.
hosts Friday Gretchen Treur & Sean Colletti
Kali Bennett
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cxXVM95U5Z4
Saturday, March 28th
9:00 – 10:00 a.m.
Workshop: Perfecting Performance Main Gallery
Facilitator: Sean Colletti $25
This workshop will help highlight ways in which we can fine-tune poetry
performances, from getting familiar with your physical performance
space to knowing where and when to shift tone and pacing.
Sean Colletti
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZK6zIaTkB4U
10:00 – 11:00 a.m.
Workshop: The Poetry of Trauma Members Gallery
Facilitator: Phil Taggart $25
This workshop will explore the ways in which trauma can be a powerful spark for creative expression. Trauma is a life journey and we will look at the possibilities of empathy and connection along the way.
�The Room is Pink by Phil Taggart
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fbmw7Y_JVOw
11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
Workshop: Music & Poetry in Harmony Main Gallery
Facilitator: TBA $25
An introduction to how poets can work with musicians or
recorded music for unique and collaborative performances.
Attendees will have an opportunity to practice with live accompaniment.
1:00 – 2:00 p.m.
Inlakech Cultural Arts Center - Ballet Folklorico & poetry
Main Gallery FREE
Inlakech is a community center in Oxnard where children learn the music and dance of their indigenous heritage. They also write poetry. Here is a line from a middle school student, "My grandmother's soul travels high like a dove in the sky looking over our family." Come see them dance and hear them read.
�Javier Gomez - Artists Call to Action
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M03k_YjsDx4
2:30 – 3:15 p.m.
Poetry & Mental Health Main Gallery FREE
Poetry’s deep connection with our mental health spans the history
of the form but has seldom been as relevant as it is right now.
Featuring a reading from Scott Struman who has built a creative
life around poetry that incorporates his disability. This event will elucidate
some of the ways in which our writing practices can be healing.
Art Saves Lives.
Scott Struman – The Joy of Checks
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7IrEGfTK2Do
3:30 – 4:45 p.m.
Competition Showcase Main Gallery FREE
The theme of this year's poetry competition is "Words for Now". And poets of all ages in their hundreds have given us those words. We will have a chance to hear some exemplary poems for now in the categories of high school, young poets, and seasoned poets.
5:15 – 6:30 p.m.
Music & Poetry Main Gallery $15/$5
Poetry performed to live, improvised musical accompaniment.
Featuring Dustin Reese (Piano), Ryan Embola (Bass), Raul Rivera (Drums)
and the poetry of Mark Waldman, Crow Daughter, Kali Bennett and Sean Colletti.
7:00 – 8:00
Saturday Headliners Main Gallery $15/$5
Veronica Reyes & Emma Trelles
Veronica Reyes is a Chicana, feminist, LGBTQ poet from East LA. Her poetry shares the lived experience of her communities, predominantly immigrant and Mexican-American. Her creative work contributes to the growing narrative of Chicana/o/x literature. She is the author of Chopper, Chopper from Red Hen Press and teaches in the English Department at Cal State LA. She is known for her powerful performances of her work.
�Verónica Reyes - Panocha Power!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2yKC0ZgTunA
Emma Trelles is a poet, writer, and educator, Trelles is the author of Tropicalia, winner of the Andres Montoya Literary Award. Trelles has served as Poet Laureate of Santa Barbara and has received multiple honors including an Academy of American Poets Laureate Fellowship. She is the editor of the Alta California Chapbook Series for Gunpowder Press. She teaches Creative Writing at Santa Barbara Community College.
�Emma Trelles - Poseia Para la Gente
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ttzp5HNkl2o
Sunday, March 29th
9:00 – 10:00 a.m.
Workshop Members Gallery
Finding Your Voice $25 Facilitator: Lyz Merola
A Workshop of Self-Inquiry, Performance and Poetry
Whether it’s on the page or in performance, this workshop is designed to give you a few tools that remind you of your power. Life is an endless journey of discovering who we are, and when we learn to listen to our instincts and intuition, authenticity shines like a beacon across dark waters. In this workshop we will use breath work, vocal exercises, yoga and writing prompts to explore ways in which we might be stifling some of our creativity or authentic self.
Lyz Merola - Boxing
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tJB0t70U9Fk
10:00 – 11:00 a.m.
Workshop: Dreams & Poetry – The Language of the Unconscious
Studio A4 $25 Facilitator: Kathryn Ridall
This generative workshop will cover the differences and similarities
between dreams and poems, and how dreams can provide
material for poems and poems can unfold the meaning of dreams.
11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
Workshop: Preparing Your Manuscript Members Gallery
Facilitator: Chryss Yost $25
Gunpowder Press editor, Chryss Yost, will help guide attendees
through the many considerations of putting a manuscript of poetry together, from exploring publishers to choosing which poems to include and where to place them.
Chryss Yost - California Poem
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N6HBFAdP6cQ
1:00 – 2:00 p.m.
New & Upcoming in Print Main Gallery FREE
Featuring Ventura County Poet Laureate Mary Ann McFadden, reading from her
new collection from Gunpowder Press, supported by Felice Alexandra and Lyz Merola,
with upcoming chapbooks from Channel Poetry Press.
Mary Ann McFadden - The Way Corn Grows and Goodbye
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VhBgVm04u80
�Felice Austin - From Ashes
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t5OjEiqc2ns
Lyz Merola
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tJB0t70U9Fk
2:20 – 3:20 p.m.
Festival Open Mic. Main Gallery FREE
Step up to the stage for our annual open mic., but take note of the sacred rules:
One poem; no epics. Sign-ups on the door only (no advanced registration).
3:40 – 4:40 p.m.
Ventura County Showcase Main Gallery FREE
Featuring poets representing the different cities and regions of Ventura County
5:10 – 6:30 p.m.
Poetry Heroes Main Gallery $15/$5
From Los Angeles to the far reaches of the Central Coast, these poets have given of themselves to their communities. We are honoring their lasting impact.
Featuring David Oliveira, Perie Longo & Suzanne Lummis.
�David Oliveira - Potluck at Katherine Hepburns
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W9Bhi59rW54
Perie Longo - Species of Concern
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t5hMaI0lYBo
Suzanne Lummis - Song of the Iconoclast and If a Woman Lies Naked in the Moonlight
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nWkQScSotFc
7:00 – 8:00
Sunday Headliners Main Gallery $15/$5
Lynne Thompson & Jeffrey McDaniel
Lynne Thompson is the daughter of Caribbean immigrants. She is the author of four books, with her latest being Blue on a Blue Palette from BOA Editions. She has received multiple honors and fellowships, and is a Poet Laureate Emerita for Los Angeles , also receiving an Academy of American Poets Laureate Fellowship. She serves on multiple Boards and has been awarded the George Drury Distinguished Service in Poetry Award.
�Lynne Thompson - More than a Rhythm Section
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NEUO0wCr8mw
Jeffrey McDaniel is the author of seven books of poetry, most recently Thin Ice Olympics. He grew up in the Southern California area and currently teaches at Sarah Lawrence College and lives in the Hudson Valley in New York. His work has been anthologized in Best American Poetry multiple times. He is known as a master of metaphor, reframing grief into tenderness and rueful laughter.
The Quiet World by Jeffrey McDaniel
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wLIzTIbKCoo
Calling all volunteers!
The Ventura County Poetry Festival is just around the corner, and we need all hands on deck!
With a four-day schedule, volunteers have plenty of shifts to choose from, including the evenings of March 26-27 and the entirety of March 28-29. Anticipated roles include: Set-Up Shift, Check-In Crew, Workshop Assistants, Bookstore Keepers, and Take-Down Team. All volunteers will receive a festival pass, providing them with free entry to all events (excluding workshops).
If you are interested, please send your name, email, and availability to [email protected]. We are grateful for your time and energy and will be in touch soon!
