The Jersey City Poetry Festival

and

Melida Rodas

JCPOFEST Founder I Visionary I Executive Producer

Poet Laureate of Jersey City 2024 - 2026

PRESENTS :

SCHEDULE OF EVENTS

DAY 1

Friday, September 25:

Kick-Off Party & VIP Networking Event

Time: 7:00 PM – 11:00 PM

Location: The Stork Club

2 Chapel Avenue, Jersey City

​

• Highlights: An opening night designed to move audiences from reflection to collective celebration.eadlined by the: Resistance Revival Chorus (Grammys, Carnegie Hall, Apollo Theater),

  
  

​

recording artist Meecah (Hamilton) and

• Le Fiddler - Award Winning Artist ( The Vatican & Foreigner's 50th Anniversary Tour - Vegas)

Featured Performers:

• Forget the Whale

• Jeff Dess

• I. Buenaventura

• The Jersey City Cabaret

• Patrick Roche

• Dr. Grisel Y. Acosta

• Gabriel Diego Hernandez

• Elisabet Velasquez

• Cat Doty

• ​Cozy

​

Includes an Open Mic connecting music, storytelling, and performance.

​

Networking opportunities with special guests: 

​

• Dodge Poetry Festival / NJPAC

• Bowery Poetry

• CavanKerry Press

• 3 Peas Productions 

• Àbákẹ́ Books & Cafe

• Black Lit Podcast  

• Color and Light Festival 

• Trill or Not Trill 

DAY 2

Saturday, September 26

SYNERGY – An Interdisciplinary Exploration of Poetry

Time: 3:00 PM – 9:00 PM

Location: Monira Foundation

Address: Mana Contemporary

888 Newark Ave, Jersey City

​

Including Film Screenings at: Monira Cinema

​

• Main Headliner: Richard Blanco,

the 5th U.S. Presidential Inaugural Poet and recipient of the 2023 National Humanities Medal.

​

Open Mic &

Young Voices:

​

​3PM ​

Community Open Mic

followed by showcases from:

​

​​

• JCPOFEST Youth Poetry Ambassador - Ethan Rodriguez

• JCPOFEST Musical Theater Ambassador - Maya Rosalky and Aicha Ousman, Bayonne 

• Project Write Now - Teens: Emalyn Donovan

• City Kidz Playhouse: Lana Oliver & Caleah Ragland 

• and literature from "The Hudson Scholar" a student run magazine team.

Special Guests & Announcements:

• Kean University Student Poet Laureate: Ameenah McKiethen

• Jersey City Free Public Library: Jersey City Youth Poet Laureate Updates & Announcements

​​​​

​

From : 3:45PM - 9PM

​

The Program Continues With The Following:

​

Literary Panel:​

​

A panel featuring poets from three vital literary organizations:

• Cave Canem

• Kundiman

• CantoMundo

Including:

• Evie Shockley (Pulitzer Prize finalist)

• Purvi Shah

• Eduardo Martinez-Leyva

• Moderated by Kathy Kremins, CavenKerry Press

​

Local & Regional Poetry Groups:

​

• Àbákẹ́ Books & Cafe / BLK Lit Podcast : TBD

• CavanKerry Press: Marina Carreira, a. adenike phillips, Cyn Grace Sylvie

• Reorienting Reads: Ashna Ali, Noah Arhm Choi, e.jin

• Jersey City Writers:  Augie Catarella, DS Will, Anisha Jain

• Kean University: Ameenah McKiethen, Kyla Byris, Gianna Valdez​

​

Featured Poets:​​​​

​​

• Dr. Edvige Giunta

• Theta Pavis

• K. Desireé Milwood

• Otto Vock

​​

​Featured Interdisciplinary

Artists:​​

​​

• Le Fiddler

• Melida Rodas

• Giselle Bellas

• Tara Stafford Ocansey

• Cara Hagan

• Chinaza Sol

• Buttered Roll

​

​

Our Main Headliner:

 Richard Blanco

​

​​

Our Book Seller & Cultural Partner

Àbákẹ́ Books & Cafe 

​​

Special Guests: 

​​​

• BLK Lit Podcast

• The Children's Environmental Literacy Foundation

• The Hudson Scholar Magazine

• The Jersey City Free Public Library 

• The Jersey City Parks Coalition

• Project Write Now - Teens

DAY 3

Sunday, September 27

Art, Ecology & Community

​

Highlights:

Lazul, an Eco-Centric Group Exhibition

Location: Lazul 301 Westside Ave. Jersey City, NJ

​

Time: 2-5pm

Stay tuned for this announcement and participating artists!

Curated by: Tina Maneca

Exploring humanity’s relationship with the natural world and sustainable futures through visual art.​​​

​

​​

LAZUL ART EXHIBITION:

FREE & OPEN TO THE PUBLIC

Other days : ON GOING May - November

"The Enduring Promise - The Pursuit of Happiness Exhibition" at The Museum of Jersey City

Schedule and Museum Hours are available HERE!

About:

JCPOFEST is a festival for The People,  illuminating the tapestry of human connection that transcends the boundaries of individual studies and mediums. We celebrate the joy of literacy and literature! 

​

Established in 2024, JCPOFEST is not just a festival—it is a homecoming of voices, a gathering of questions, a place where poetry shakes hands with science, where philosophy sits beside technology, and where all art forms exist like a harmonious ecosystem. It is a celebration of who we are, where we wander, what we wonder, and how we shape the world around us. 

​

JCPOFEST is rooted in community, energized by innovation and inspires us to envision new ways of being together, of dreaming together. As part of the year round events leading to the festival weekend, multidisciplinary experiences invite us into a poem not just as readers, but as witnesses, as participants, as makers of sacred spaces that nurture collective imagination. 

JCPOFEST doesn’t just speak—it listens.

JCPOFEST, in partnership with local writers, artists, organizations and local businesses, is a gift wrapped in hope, vision, and the urgent need to remind us about the mystery, fragility and majesty of our planet earth and those who inhabit it.

JCPOFEST TEAM: ​

At the heart of this vision is the festival's founder and creative director,

Melida Rodas, eco-poetry teacher and Jersey City’s Poet Laureate.

Founder and Visionary, The Jersey City Poetry Festival

Her award wining, multimedia, body of work is equal parts elegy and call to action. 

Eugene O’Connell - Philanthropy Chair

I. Buenaventura

Producer / Panel Curator

Le Fiddler Entertainment - Production I Sound Technician 

Tina Maneca - Art Curator I Lazul 

Emilee Jane Rosalsky - Production Assistant

Alyssa Bacay - Volunteer Coordinator I Stage Manager ​

HOSPITALITY & EVENT EXPERIENCE TEAM: 

Holding space for connection, care, and belonging.

​​

Sarah Ruilova 

Myrah Rivera Rodriguez 

Elyssa Santiago

Nicolas Byers

​

Media Contact General Information :      

Email: jcpofest@gmail.com     

Website: www.jcpofest.org

​