Since last July poets have been competing to make the youth slam finals and a chance to represent Vancouver at the Youthcanslam Festival in August and defend the national title.
This night will be presented “In the round” with the audience seated surrounding the stage much like the Underground Indies competition.
Buy tickets for Vancouver Youth Poetry Slam Finals featuring Patrick DeBelen
Our 8 finalists have been decided. They are listed from 1st to 8th as determined by the regular season. The slate will be swept clean for finals.
Our regular season champion is Emma Field followed by Alex Montinola, Natalie Zakon , Mariah Dear , Vienna Claire Jeffery and Melissa Illing tying for 5th with Angelica Pohveherskie & Andrew Warner wrapping up the top 8.
This list included three returning team members, two other finalists from last year and three first time finalists. These poets alone guarantee it will be a terrific night plus we have as our feature at the WISE Hall on Monday March 23rd Patrick de Belen
Patrick de Belen is a youth educator, speaker, and an award-winning spoken word artist. He is grateful to have harnessed his inner dopeness at an early age, and hasn’t been able to control it since. Known for his hard-hitting, rhyme-slinging punch lines and raw, unedited stories; Patrick delivers a spoken word style that has won him a national championship, earned him the title of the inaugural Youth Poet of Honour of Canada and has taken him to platforms all across North America. Off the stage, he spends his time in youth mentorship and leadership, encouraging young people to discover and control the power of their voice. Learn more about Patrick: Patrickdebelen.com

Tickets will be $8 for 18 and under and $10 for 19 and up. Money raised helps to fund the youth teams travel to Ottawa. General Seating. Tickets are non-refundable and non-transferrable.

Accessibility Info:
You’ll note on arrival a set of railed stairs leading into the Hall. The wheelchair accessible entrance is around back. For certain events there will be someone posted at the door throughout the event and/or a bell system will be rigged up to ensure no one has to wait out there to be let in. If this has not been clarified by organizers already, please consider contacting them for details.
Once inside, you’ll find a spacious wood-floored hall, open concept, tables and chairs set up throughout. The stage (accessible only via stairs) is to your left, and the washrooms towards the back of the hall. The washrooms are currently gendered, but sometimes will be marked “gender neutral”. There are two sets of washrooms. The one to the left of the bar is currently marked “men”, is on the same level and is now wheelchair accessible, with 2 urinals and one wheelchair access stall and one non-wheelchair access stall. The one to the right of the bar, currently marked “women”, is wheelchair accessible with no urinals and one additional stall. *update as of June 2013: please note that a new, wheelchair accessible men’s bathroom has been created. The finishing touches are still being added, and the door has been adjusted to more easily fit wheelchair/scooter users, but overall the space is great.
Read the Radical Accessibility Mapping Project’s WISE Hall overview or complete audit.