It's almost time to take the stage and the pre-show jitters are jangling your nerves. However, there are some tips and tricks to get your body and voice ready. Afterwards, you'll feel ready to unleash your poems upon the world.
This night will kick off the competitive section of Hullabaloo. This is a free all-ages event. It may contain strong language, controversial issues, and words that make you re-evaluate your life.
The All-Star SLAM pits three former poetry slam champions head to head to head in an all-out battle of poetic verve and wit. It presents the poignancy, hilarity, and immediacy of slam poetry competitions at the highest level. Students interact with the performers as judges and have a chance to ask questions. As one student said: “This is better than Metallica!”
By the second night of prelims, the tournament will be in full swing. Some teams will be flying high, others will be working hard to improve their ranking.
16 individual poets – one from each school – will run a gauntlet of poetic challenges to decide who will become the second-ever Hullabaloo Indie Champion. Indie Finals Night has a unique format, one that challenges our poets to think outside of the slam box and run a gauntlet of poetic challenges.
The land of poetry spreads out far and vast. There's a lot of territory to cover. You could spend a whole day just traveling from metaphor to extended metaphor. Then there's rhyme and alliteration. Poets have spent years investigating the nooks and crannies of those areas. What about the presentation of the text? Or the magical land of improvisation?
It's time for the teachers to show off their stuff! Many of the teacher coaches of Hullabaloo are poets themselves and we want to hear what they have to say. Also, we're turning the tables on these coaches. Now it's our turn to lean back and listen while they perform.
The 3rd annual HULLABALOO FINALS NIGHT will determine which school has the best poetic chops in all of British Columbia. Amy Everhart will start the evening with a feature set of his award-winning spoken word poetry. Then the top four teams from the preliminary bouts will face off against each other with the 2013 Hullabaloo team championship at stake.
Vancouver poets have been competing all winter to qualify for team slam playoffs. The top eight poets earn spots in this final round and a chance to make the 2013 Van Slam team.
East Van favourites and long-time collaborators, Ivan Coyote and Veda Hille team up for a magical night of music and storytelling.
Aretha Franklin’s Greatest Hits will be sung by Chelsea ‘The Voice’ Johnson backed by a live band. Between songs, poets will perform new works inspired by the music.
We'll go over the fine print of the rules, have the bout draw, talk about safe space, meet one another, and get psyched for a week of amazing camaraderie.
Our panel of overanalyzers, aka 'experts', discuss the nature of slam poetry. Is it a poetic genre or simply an event format?
Two-time Juno Award winning dub poet, Lillian Allen performs her politically-infused style of poetry. Allen's political themes and depth of vision are woven in an enchanting and unique blend of orality and the written word.
Beau Sia puts on an advanced poetry workshop. Participants are expected to have some prior experience with writing and performing poetry.
An open mic where poets match wits with the legendary Fernando Raguero.
Using original haiku, 16 poets – or haikusters – will battle it out in a head-to-head competition judged by the audience.
The Great Black North is a contemporary remix of the story of Black Canada. Poets from the anthology reading at this event are: Kevan Cameron, Dr. Mason-John aka 'Queenie', Wayde Compton, Adelene da Soul Poet, and Lillian Allen.
Write Bloody publishes the top poets in the slam movement. This showcase features Mindy Nettifee from Portland, Tara Hardy from Seattle, Mike McGee from Bellingham, and Beau Sia from L.A. in his first-ever Vancouver performance.
This is the night we discover which poets will make it on to the 2014 Vancouver Youth Poetry Slam team. 8 poets competing for the honour to represent Vancouver at this year's Youthcanslam Festival in Ottawa in August.
What does poetry look like? Going beyond sounds in the air or words on the page, three poets and visual artists reimagine poetry in the visual realm.
Blurring the line between stand up and spoken-word means high-octane fun with Cheryl Maddalena, Sara Bynoe, Fernando Raguero, Al Mader, and Graham Clark.
A screening of some of the best poetry videos accompanied by an analysis of how and why they work. Poetry videos will be organized into one-shot / performance, music video style, and animation. 
This night will kick off the 2013 Canadian Individual Poetry Slam Championship. 
On the first night, 40 of the best poets from across Canada will be slamming with four-minute and one-minute poems.
This cabaret will disregard acceptable taste in favour of the exceptionally tasty. Through the realms of raunch, these artists will invert normalized concepts of sex and sexuality, inviting us into a new land of kink and freedom.
Sometimes you need to eliminate your favourite image or most clever line to create a better poem. Taught by Jillian Christmas, 2012 Van Slam Grand Champ.
Day two will see some poets flinging caution aside at they try to move up in the rankings, while other poets will be under pressure to maintain their position. 
On Day Two, poets will be slamming with two minute and three minute poems.
The top 12 poets from prelims advance to this bout. Who will claim the title of 2013 Canadian Individual Poetry Slam Champion?