“A Blanket and a Basket of Chow”— a Picnic Celebration of California Writers on October 9th
Cascade Flows, Singalong, Picnic, Readings & Poet Laureate Celebration. Join us!

Join us for a special celebration on the afternoon of October 9th, 2021 in Joaquin Miller Park!
A ribbon-cutting ceremony with city officials and the Friends of Joaquin Miller Park at noon will mark the completion of phase one of the water feature restoration. As the flow returns to the Woodminister Cascade, our writer in residence, Kristen Caven will lead a sing-along of her soon-to-be-hit song, “Joaquin Miller Went Walkin’.”
12pm – 1pm location: Woodminister Cascade, Joaquin Miller Park
After that, we’ll head for the Fire Circle for “A Blanket and a Basket of Chow,” a picnic in the meadow or at the tables (bring your own chow!) from 1 to 4 pm.
From Ina to Ayodele: Readings by our Poet Laureate
From 2 to 3 p.m., Caven will host a presentation called “From Ina to Ayodele.” CWC writers will read works by historical Club members, in contrast to new works of their own.
These CWC members will read works by CWC’s founding members and/or literary figureheads.
- Paul Corman Roberts – founder & host of Beast Crawl – reading a work by Joaquin Miller.
- Karma Bennett – current president of the Berkeley Branch of the California Writers Club – reading a work by Jack London
- Randy MacNair – poet & speaker chair of the CWC – reading a work by George Sterling
- Amos White – poet & founder of 100K Trees for Humantiy – reading works by Yone Noguchi
And our featured guest,
- Dr. Adoyele “Wordslanger” Nzinga – OAKLAND’S FIRST POET LAUREATE – reading works by Ina Coolbrith, California’s first poet laureate AND the first poet laureate in the U.S.!
All of these artists will also read some of their own writing, and we may also get to hear some new voices if time. See who inspires you!
1 p.m.-4 p.m. location: Fire Circle Picnic Area, Joaquin Miller Park
This event is free to the public, so there is no ticket link, but please save it to your calendar with the link below. And of course it is BYOP: bring your own picnic!

———————— COVID STUFF —————————
Masks and social distancing are recommended! By attending this event, you agree to these three things:

THE CALIFORNIA WRITERS CLUB was started by a group of writing professionals in the early 1900s. The Berkeley Branch is the founding branch of the statewide Club, which now has 19 branches and around 2000 members throughout California. We are the third oldest writers’ club in the country, currently celebrating our 100th year serving Bay Area writers.
The CWC is a nonprofit professional organization open to writers in every genre and at every level of experience, from novice to published. Our purpose is to promote fellowship and to provide practical information that supports all members in achieving their publishing goals.
We offer or have offered meetings, speakers support/critique groups, a newsletter, writing contests, a chapbook, readings, and workshops.
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