Welcome to Vino & Verses: a monthly open mic poetry night curated and hosted by Bethany Callaway.
After a little month off, we're back! Join us at Chater’s on Wednesday, 2nd December, for another evening of beautiful words paired with delicious wine, cocktails, and aperitivo – and this time, a little something to eat, too.
How It Works:
Sign up at the door if you’d like to read; names are pulled at random from the hat throughout the night. Each speaker has up to 5 minutes and is welcome to share their own poetry, read on behalf of someone else, or perform a piece by a poet they love. Of course, you’re equally welcome to sit back, sip, and enjoy the local talent.
The Evening:
6pm: Doors open
Come in, grab a drink, find yourself a seat and have a chat. There's plenty of time to settle in before the words begin.
7pm: Words start
Bethany will introduce the evening with a little welcome and a poem of her own before we dive into the first half of our open mic.
Guest poet: Wes Freeman-Smith
We'll then be joined by our evening's guest poet for a special performance.
Interval: Food & a little mingling
Time to stretch your legs, catch up with fellow poetry lovers and, if you've pre-ordered, tuck into some lasagne!
Second half: Back to the words
We'll gather again for the second half of the open mic, introduced by Bethany (who will, rather selfishly, be reading another poem of her own). Then it's back to the hat for our final round of readers.
Around 9:45pm: Words wrap up
The poetry might be over, but the evening doesn't have to be. Stay for another drink, a chat and a chance to mingle. The bar will remain open, so feel free to stick around and tell people how much you loved their poetry and become a part of a beautiful little community.
Guest:
We're delighted to welcome Wes Freeman-Smith, a spoken word performer based in Cambridge, and one half of our sister poetry night, Word Salad!
Wes is not nearly as posh as his name makes him sound and has been writing in some form or another for many years – poetry, music reviews, and many lines of code (before the robots took the fun out of it). He founded the art collective and publishing house Colliding Lines, where he collaborated on anthologies, music releases and live series, and currently co-hosts the lively local poetry night Word Salad with Daisy Thurston-Gent. He enjoys working with music and musicians, including a long-distance collaborative project called Catching Shadows. By day, he is training as a digital detective/cyber cop, which is almost as interesting as making art.
Food & Drink:
For this edition, we're very excited to be serving lasagne!
Lasagne will be served during the interval and is available by pre-order only, at £14 pp. A vegetarian option is available, too. Please make sure to pre-order in advance if you'd like to join us for dinner!
Our drinks offering includes a beautifully curated collection of wines, handpicked for the week by Diego Amaro, as well as a selection of in-house cocktails from our distillery, Vault Aperitivo. You can also find a selection of soft drinks for those of you who want to take it a little easier.
There will also be a selection of bar snacks and a cicchetti bar available to order from on the night.
Where?
Chater’s, 17 Church Street, Saffron Walden, CB10 1JW
When?
Wednesday, 2nd December
Welcome to Vino & Verses: a monthly open mic poetry night curated and hosted by Bethany Callaway.
After a little month off, we're back! Join us at Chater’s on Wednesday, 2nd December, for another evening of beautiful words paired with delicious wine, cocktails, and aperitivo – and this time, a little something to eat, too.
How It Works:
Sign up at the door if you’d like to read; names are pulled at random from the hat throughout the night. Each speaker has up to 5 minutes and is welcome to share their own poetry, read on behalf of someone else, or perform a piece by a poet they love. Of course, you’re equally welcome to sit back, sip, and enjoy the local talent.
The Evening:
6pm: Doors open
Come in, grab a drink, find yourself a seat and have a chat. There's plenty of time to settle in before the words begin.
7pm: Words start
Bethany will introduce the evening with a little welcome and a poem of her own before we dive into the first half of our open mic.
Guest poet: Wes Freeman-Smith
We'll then be joined by our evening's guest poet for a special performance.
Interval: Food & a little mingling
Time to stretch your legs, catch up with fellow poetry lovers and, if you've pre-ordered, tuck into some lasagne!
Second half: Back to the words
We'll gather again for the second half of the open mic, introduced by Bethany (who will, rather selfishly, be reading another poem of her own). Then it's back to the hat for our final round of readers.
Around 9:45pm: Words wrap up
The poetry might be over, but the evening doesn't have to be. Stay for another drink, a chat and a chance to mingle. The bar will remain open, so feel free to stick around and tell people how much you loved their poetry and become a part of a beautiful little community.
Guest:
We're delighted to welcome Wes Freeman-Smith, a spoken word performer based in Cambridge, and one half of our sister poetry night, Word Salad!
Wes is not nearly as posh as his name makes him sound and has been writing in some form or another for many years – poetry, music reviews, and many lines of code (before the robots took the fun out of it). He founded the art collective and publishing house Colliding Lines, where he collaborated on anthologies, music releases and live series, and currently co-hosts the lively local poetry night Word Salad with Daisy Thurston-Gent. He enjoys working with music and musicians, including a long-distance collaborative project called Catching Shadows. By day, he is training as a digital detective/cyber cop, which is almost as interesting as making art.
Food & Drink:
For this edition, we're very excited to be serving lasagne!
Lasagne will be served during the interval and is available by pre-order only, at £14 pp. A vegetarian option is available, too. Please make sure to pre-order in advance if you'd like to join us for dinner!
Our drinks offering includes a beautifully curated collection of wines, handpicked for the week by Diego Amaro, as well as a selection of in-house cocktails from our distillery, Vault Aperitivo. You can also find a selection of soft drinks for those of you who want to take it a little easier.
There will also be a selection of bar snacks and a cicchetti bar available to order from on the night.
Where?
Chater’s, 17 Church Street, Saffron Walden, CB10 1JW
When?
Wednesday, 2nd December
