St. Augustine PoetFest 2025

For the fourth year, Flagler College, Ancient City Poets, and the St. Johns Cultural Council present a three-day poetry festival to celebrate literary heritage and connect the creative community. St. Augustine PoetFest 2025 takes place throughout the city at various cultural venues and includes different types of events.

All Poetfest 2025 events are free and open to the public.

Day 1 — Thursday, April 10

Festival Kick-Off:

Beat Poet Summit & Community Open Mic

St. Augustine PoetFest 2025 starts with a night of shared poetry at the St. Johns County Waterworks building at 6:30 p.m. This evening's program is presented by the National Beat Poetry Foundation.

• During the first hour, poets recognized as "Beat Poet Laureates" of their prospective states (current or past honorees) by the National Beat Poetry Foundation will perform their pieces.
• The second hour will be a community open mic night, where local poets and the public are invited to share their most recent writing pieces.

Doors open at 6:00 p.m., with the sign-up sheet available for interested performers until the 7:00 p.m. showtime.

Admission: Free and open to all members of the public.

When: Thursday, April 10, 6:30 - 9:00 p.m. Doors open at 6:00 p.m.

Where: The Waterworks, 184 San Marco Avenue, St. Augustine, Florida 32084 (Free parking available onsite.)

Note: While the address is 184 San Marco Avenue, the only driveway on San Marco is Exit Only. Access to the Waterworks is through the St. Augustine Main Library parking lot. (Use 1960 North Ponce de Leon in your GPS.)

NOTE: We don't yet have a final list of speakers and their topics. We will add that as soon as it is available.

Day 2 — Friday, April 11

Day two begins at 9:00 a.m. and will include author discussions and a keynote presentation at Flagler College. An open mic event will follow in the evening at Relampago Coffee Lab, 74 Spanish Street

Flagler College Campus

Ringhaver Student Center — 50 Sevilla Street

Relampago Coffee Lab — 74 Spanish Street

Open Mic Night, hosted by the Flagler College English Dept.

After a full Friday of poetry and spoken word events, the Flagler English Department students and faculty invite locals and visitors to join them in an evening of creative performances. Tucked away in the back garden of Relampago, this regular open mic night event will include poetry and musical performances. Sign-up starts at 6:00 p.m., with the first reader beginning at 6:30 p.m.

Admission: Free and open to the public

When: Friday, April 12, 6:30 - 8:30 p.m.

Where: Relampago Coffee Lab, 74 Spanish Street, St. Augustine, Florida 32084 

(This event is slated to be outside on their back deck. No parking is available onsite, and there are paid lots nearby.)

Day 3 — Saturday, April 12

Day three will see another day full of diverse and engaging sessions. Starting at 10:00 a.m. and concluding around 7:00 p.m., the final day of the festival will take place in various buildings on the Flagler College campus. The festival will conclude in the evening with an awards ceremony and reception.

Flagler College Campus —

Ringhaver Student Center — 50 Sevilla Street

Jay's Place — 1st Floor

The main organizer of the St. Augustine PoetFest is Florida Beat Poet Laureate, Chris Bodor. Click the email button on this event page to contact his team.