Donations are always appreciated to help cover our expenses. All donations support our community directly. We have no paid staff, inventory, leases, or rent.
Benevolent Friends is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization and donations are tax-deductible per IRS rules.
Click here to donate and be sure to save your donation receipt for your records. Donations are also accepted at events; however, receipts for cash donations may not be available at all locations.
Event Details
Parking and Directions:
The Dapper Owl Coffee Pub & Bakery is located at 2412 East Main St. near Rutherford Blvd. There is extra parking along the side of the building on Arnold Lane. Please park perpendicular to the building and be careful of the AC unit. Parallel parking is also allowed down Arnold Lane, but please don’t block any driveways. For safety reasons, only team members recruited for setup will be allowed in before 6 pm. Thank you for understanding.
Open Mic Guidelines:
Attendees are invited to share poetry or spoken word, either original work or by another writer. Please give credit when reading another writer's work. Creativity and free speech are celebrated, but please keep material appropriate for the ages of those in the audience.
A sign-up sheet will be available near the entrance once doors open. Feel free to share more than one poem, but be aware that a time limit will be set based on the number of signups. A good rule of thumb is to prepare for about 3 minutes at the mic.
Recording and Photography:
Please be aware that some audience members and/or staff may want to take pictures or videos throughout the evening. Each open-mic participant has the right to opt out by stating “no media” when approaching the podium. All attendees are asked to respect these opt-out requests.
Admission Price:
Events and activities hosted by Benevolent Friends are always free to all humans in our community. Everyone is welcome and invited to attend!