April is National Poetry Month on Bainbridge and Across the Country. Check out Links and Details, Plus List of Earth Month Activities

If poetry is your thing, there are plenty of opportunities this month to explore what is happening with rhymes and couplets and other forms of poetry at any number of events and venues. Below is a comprehensive list of activities guaranteed to soothe your inner soul or delight your spiritual senses.

Through April: 

POETRY CORNERS 2025. An exhibit of 40 poster-sized poems in downtown Winslow storefront windows, in the Bainbridge Public Library, and in the Bainbridge Island Ferry Terminal. This year’s theme: “All Creatures Great and Small.” https://www.bainbridgeislandpoetlaureate.org/poetry-corners

PLUM Annual Haiku Exhibit! The winning entries flutter above the Plum deck throughout April! https://plumbainbridge.com/

Poetry & Public Art. Poems by Bainbridge Island poets in response to artwork in the City of Bainbridge Island and Bainbridge Public Library public art collections can be enjoyed via a QRCode posted near the artwork or by visiting the Bainbridge Island Poet Laureate Program website: https://www.bainbridgeislandpoetlaureate.org/poetry-public-art.

Poems Have Their Own Mythology. Tuesdays, April 15, 22, 29. 5 p.m. BARN. Write poems rooted in traditional and personal mythologies by engaging with poetry texts and prompts. Facilitated by poet and essayist Carrie Beyer. https://www.create.bainbridgebarn.org/AssnFe/ev.asp?ID=5322252

Poetry Surprise Class. Fridays, April 4, 18, and 25. 3 – 4:30 p.m. Explore a new topic, study a wide range of poetry styles, and enjoy creative writing exercises to get your poems started. Taught by Amanda Williamsen, past Poet Laureate of Cupertino, CA. No fee. Online at Bainbridge Island Senior Community Center. Register: https://biseniorcenter.org/

ARS POETICA 2024. Artwork Interpreting Poetry. Readings & Receptions:

JG Art – Saturday, April 5. 1 – 2:30 p.m.

Bainbridge Arts & Crafts – Saturday, April 5. 2:30 – 4 p.m.

https://www.arspoeticawa.com/

Healing through Creativity: An Afternoon with Pongo Poetry Project. Sunday, April 6. 3 – 5 p.m. at Bainbridge Performing Arts. The community is invited to learn about Pongo Poetry Project, a dynamic non-profit organization inspiring healing among youth in crisis. Enjoy poetry and other creative activities.

https://pongopoetryproject.org/healing-through-creativity-bainbridge/

Bainbridge Open Mic. Thursday, April 17. 7 – 8:30 p.m. Bainbridge Public Library. Featured poet: Rae Armentrout, winner of the 2010 Pulitzer Prize in poetry. https://www.bainbridgeislandpoetlaureate.org/upcoming-events-and-workshops

Writing as Resistance Workshop. Friday, April 18. 3 – 4:30 p.m. Bainbridge Public Library. Art Disrupts Authoritarianism, So Let’s Make Art! Join Michele Bombardier, Bainbridge Island’s Poet Laureate, in this generative workshop. Listen to some poems and write poems or prose of your own. https://www.bainbridgeislandpoetlaureate.org/upcoming-events-and-workshops

Teen Night at BARN. Friday, April 18. 6 – 9 p.m. Teens (grades 7-12) gather for a free evening of art, friends, and creativity! Bainbridge Island Poet Laureate Michele Bombardier will be the guest artist. https://www.create.bainbridgebarn.org/assnfe/ev.asp?ID=5320892

Poetry Corners LIVE. Saturday, April 26. 2 – 4 p.m. Bainbridge Island Museum of Art (BIMA). Poetry Corners exhibit poets read their works. Followed by anthology book sale and reception. https://www.bainbridgeislandpoetlaureate.org/poetry-corners

Earth Month Activities

Red Pine Park Work Party, Tuesday, April 8, 10am-noon, 418 Wood Avw SW – Work with the Parks Department’s horticulture staff to maintain garden beds, a historic fruit orchard, edible perennials, and other historic plantings in this former homestead in the heart of downtown. Parking is limited. Please register here. Contact Sierra Kross with any questions or concerns.

Zero Waste Open House, Thursday, April 10, 5-7pm, at the BI Senior/Community Center – Hosted by the City of Bainbridge Island, this event will feature local, regional and national vendors and organizations with tips and products for ways your household or business can work toward a zero-waste lifestyle. More information on the vendors will become available soon. Those who attend will be eligible for the FREE giveaway of a FoodCycler Eco 3!

Metal Fabrication: Fix-it Saturday, April 12, 10am-12:30pm, at BARN – Bring items in for our free Fix-It Saturday, the second Saturday of each month, hosted by monitors in the welding, sheet metal, and machine shops.

Scrap Metal Recycling Collection, Saturday, April 12, 11am-3pm, at the BI Senior/Community Center (BISCC) – Small scrap metal is continually collected whenever the BISCC is open, usually 9am-4pm, Monday-Friday. Here’s your chance to bring over small and medium-sized pieces, 25# max per item (examples here) on a weekend. If you’re not sure if your item is too large, email Barbara Ochota. Do not bring what can be put in your recycling cart.

Conservation Work Party, Saturday, April 12, 10am-noon, Battle Point Park, 11299 Arrow Point Dr – Join the Park District for three Saturdays of volunteering at Battle Point Park. We will be removing invasives such as English Ivy, Himalayan Blackberry, and Scotch Broom. This activity is more suitable for children ages six and up who are comfortable using some tools, walking off trail on uneven surfaces, and potentially getting pricked by blackberry thorns. We will have leather gloves and water to refill your reusable water bottles. Please register here. Contact Sierra Kross with any questions or concerns.

Bainbridge Island Environmental Conference, Sunday, April 13, 1-4pm, at IslandWood – The conference will include 1) an overview of community science, including many local efforts to quantify the biodiversity and natural systems of our own Island, 2) presentation of the Environmentalist of the Year award, and 3) an opportunity to head out on IslandWood’s trails and speak with naturalists to learn about how to participate in the City Nature Challenge to document local biodiversity. Go here for more details on the conference and to see how to register.

Moritani Preserve Work Party, Thursday, April 17, 10am-noon, 542 Winslow Way W – Join the Parks Department’s Natural Resources team in caring for the woods and meadows of Moritani Preserve by managing invasive species, maintaining garden beds, and planting natives when the weather is right. Parking is limited. Please register here. Contact Sierra Kross with any questions or concerns.

A Botanical Banquet & the Wicked World of Plants, Thursday, April 17, 6-8 pm, at IslandWood – Gather for a seasonally inspired vegetarian feast prepared by IW’s chef Jim White. Then retreat to the Great Hall for 45 minutes of bloodcurdling tales of plants that kill, maim, intoxicate, and otherwise offend. Attendees must be 15 years or older. Get tickets here.

Spring Skills of a Naturalist: Breakfast with the Birds, Friday, April 18, 7-9am, IslandWood – Start off with a delicious IslandWood breakfast, followed by a trip along the trails with guide Mark Salvadalena, a top-notch birder who will share his tricks and tips for bird identification, including birding by silhoutte, ear, and ecological connections in our temperate rainforest habitat. Go here for tickets.

Source Materials: Poetry info courtesy of Kathleen Thorne; Earth Month courtesy of Sustainable Bainbridge.

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