1. TIE: SickSpits and Bistro 33 (226 F St.)
Vying for top spot for Best Open Mic in Davis are Campus Union Programs-presented events in Griffin Lounge and Poetry Nights at Bistro 33 on F Sreet.
On the first Tuesday of every month at 7 p.m., UC Davis students can gather in Griffin to watch their fellow students of spoken word collective SickSpits perform – and perhaps take a chance at performing themselves.
Associate director of Campus Unions Programs and Marketing Theresa Montemayor attributes the event’s success to the involvement of SickSpits.
“They really create the excitement and energy in the event,” Montemayor said in an e-mail interview. “Campus Unions has been sponsoring this now for years, and we wouldn’t have been able to do it without the talents of SickSpits.“
On the first and third Wednesdays of the month, downtown eatery Bistro 33 on F Street hosts a free participation night of its own with Poetry Night. Presented by University Writing Program lecturers Andy Jones and Brad Henderson, audience members are welcome to participate in the open mic after a reading from the featured poet.
Jones said that the Bistro 33 event has drawn readings from everyone from UC Davis professors and students as well as local and traveling poets. Recent guests include Sacramento rapper Random Abiladeze and Kim Addonizio.
– Laura Kroeger
