Local Celebration of National Poetry Month to be Held in Ballston Spa

BALLSTON SPA — The Village of Ballston Spa and its Committee on the Arts recently announced the 3rd annual “Random Acts of Poetry” series.

The village-wide, month-long celebration of National Poetry Month in April includes a variety of different poetry activities and projects.

The ongoing “Acts” will include poetry banners on the streetlights throughout the village, as well as haiku written by Ballston Spa High School students and local residents on lawn signs in both Wiswall Park and Memorial Park that will create a “Poetry Walk.” 

There will be “Dining with Poetry” in some village restaurants, and many Ballston Spa businesses will be hosting a “Poetry Chalk Walk” written on the sidewalks in front of their shops by local Girl Scout troops. Another initiative is “Poem in Your Pocket,” buckets where select businesses will have poetry scrolls available to take. The Ballston Spa Committee on the Arts social media Facebook page will also feature “A Daily Dose” of poetry, most of which has been written by local poets.

The “Acts” events start with a book signing at the Ballston Spa Library with authors Rose Marie LaPietra and MacKenzie Akin-Martel on April 7. A “Poetry Performance Reading” will take place in the historic Brookside Museum’s Long Room, hosted by Saratoga Springs Poet Laureate Jay Rogoff, and will feature readings from his own work along with poets Barbara Ungar and Hajar Hussaini on Sunday, April 12 at 7 p.m. This will be followed by two workshops at the library on April 18, the first starting at 10 a.m. (“A Playful Way into Reading Poetry”) and the second starting at 1 p.m. (“Playing with Words: A Poetry Writing Workshop” led by local poets Elaine Handley and Marilyn McCabe). The “Acts” culminates with an open mic night, hosted by Steven Guilfoyle, on April 30 at 6 p.m. at the Back Barn Brewery.

All events are free and open to the public; however, space is limited. To reserve a seat for the poetry performance reading on April 12, pre-register online through the Brookside Museum website: brooksidemuseum.org/events/upcoming-events/.