Please join us, Waterville Opera House, March 11
Thirty two high schools including 4,300 students from across Maine participated in the Poetry Out Loud program this year. This year’s regional contests were hosted at Hampden Academy and Westbrook Performing Arts Centers. The Maine Arts Commission, which produces and administers the statewide contests is excited about the upcoming state finals at the Waterville Opera House on March 11 at 3 p.m. where ten high school students will perform. The event is free and open to the public.
The doors at the State Finals will open at 2:30 p.m. and at 2:45 p.m. the Messalonskee High School jazz band, under the direction of music educator Andy Forster, will perform. Later in the program they will perform for a second time.
In addition, Maine Poet Laureate Stuart Kestenbaum will read from his poems. The event will be hosted by local television personality, Bill Green.
Northern Maine Regional Finalists Shaphnah McKenzie, Emma Jacot-Descombes, Magnolia Vandiver, Hanna Lavenson, Emily Campbell
Congratulations to the following finalists, their teachers and schools:
Northern Maine Regional Champions (in order alphabetically by school):
- Shapnah McKenzie, Bangor High School
- Magnolia Vandiver, George Stevens Academy
- Hannah Lavenson, Messalonskee High School
- Emma Jacot-Descombes, Rangeley Lakes Regional Schools
- Emily Campbell, Waterville High School
Southern Maine Regional Champions (in order alphabetically by school):
There will be three rounds of recitations. Each student will recite two poems from memory. The scores will be tallied and five students will go to the final round reciting one more of their favorite poems. One state finalist will be named the overall state champion and advance to the national competition, where they will compete for a total of $50,000 in awards and school stipends, as well as a $20,000 scholarship.
The event will also be broadcast and live streamed on the Maine Arts Commission’s Facebook page in collaboration with Boothbay Region Television and other local access TV stations.
For more information about the state and national finals, please visit the Maine Arts Commission: Poetry Out Loud webpage or contact me, Argy Nestor at argy.nestor@maine.gov or 207-287-2713.
Poetry Out Loud is organized nationally by the National Endowment for the Arts and the Poetry Foundation and administered at the state level by the Maine Arts Commission.
One week from today Joao Victor from Lewiston High School will be in Washington, D.C. to represent Maine at the National Poetry Out Loud Finals. Fortunately, the recitations are broadcast live from the Lisner Auditorium at George Washington University.
me arts ed 
