Vancouver Trendz [THURSDAY]

Slam Dunk

Thursday, February 1, 2007

Vancouver's quietly been host to some of North America's finest slam poetry. Now, the rest of the continent is paying tribute to our powerful local scene by coming to town for the annual Individual World Poetry Slam competition.

Slam poetry is a competitive form of spoken word performance. Depending on the performer, it can be part traditional poetry, part stand-up comedy, part hiphop or part theatre. And it's always entertaining, provocative and incredibly emotional.

Now, for three nights only, you can see the best of North America put their skills to the test at slam poetry regular Café Deux Soleils, along with Zesty's Restaurant, Rime and the newly-reopened Rio Theatre. Preliminary rounds for the Individual World Poetry Slam take place at 8 p.m. and 10 p.m. tonight and tomorrow night (February 1 and 2). The finals will take place Saturday night from 7:30 p.m. to 11:30 p.m. Door prices for tickets are $15 for preliminary rounds and $20 for the finals. For all the details, including a schedule of the daily free shows, head to www.individualpoetryslam.com.

Café Deux Soleils, 2096 Commercial Drive
Zesty's Restaurant, 920 Commercial Drive
Rime, 1130 Commercial Drive
Rio Theatre, 1660 Broadway (at Commercial)

Yesterday in Brand New we got a brand new bag and tomorrow in Hot Picks we've got back. And have you checked out this week's contest yet?