Kids & Family

Poetry Festival to 'Pop Up' in Ridgewood

The Ridgewood Arts Council is planning an afternoon of poetry downtown December 7.

The Ridgewood Arts Council would bet you have a few poems hidden away – in a notebook, a desk drawer or in the back of your mind.

Making the words flow from village residents of all ages is its goal with a planned “Pop Up Poetry” afternoon Dec. 7.

The year-old arts council is a part of the Ridgewood Guild, which will be holding its first weekend of Winterfest events that day.

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“We hope to have conversations about poems, poetry and writing, and how the art of poetry permeates our lives,” said Jim O’Rourke, a village resident, author and volunteer working on the event. “It’s all around us, in our everyday speech.”

The idea sprung out of a previous pop up art gallery in May, the first event hosted by a newly revamped arts council. The pop up events bring art into the public arena, places it may not normally be expected.

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“I’ve seen a lot of pop up events around the country, and I’m someone who loves poetry,” said Dotti Fucito, the president of the arts council. “In the 60s and 70s I haunted New York City listening to spoken poetry, and I just feel it’s something we should foster in town.”

When visitors go to the old Bank of America building from noon to 5 p.m. the day of the event, they’ll see art hung around the building and poetry for reading and discussion. Authors from around the area have been invited to share, and the public will also be invited to take part in an open mic.

Though published poets will be in attendance, O’Rourke said the hope is to pull a few would-be spectators to the microphone.

“I think there are secret poets out there all over the place, and they just put them in their desk and don’t show them to anyone,” he said. “Poetry’s a way of reassuring people that they aren’t alone. If people go home understanding that a little better, I think it brings people closer together.”

The event happens the day after the annual tree lighting, and during the Ridgewood Guild’s third annual Winterfest, which will bring families converging on the downtown for hayrides, entertainment and ice sculptures.

The arts council, seeing a resurgence since disbanding in recent years, is hoping to attract families already downtown, with poetry for children and with a dramatic reading of "'Twas the Night Before Christmas" at 3:15 p.m.

“We’re trying to touch upon both the visual and the performing arts,” Fucito said of the council’s plans, present and future. “We want to bring the arts to the town, maybe in a different way than anybody has.”

“We used to have arts festivals, we used to have big events all the time,” she continued. “So we’re hoping to bring that back again.” 


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