Fogartyville will present the final event in their “Poets Unplugged” Spoken Word series on Saturday, May 14. Doors will open at 7pm as DJ Rozay sets the mood with his musical mix. At 8pm there will be a curated Open Mic featuring some of the best poets from the previous spoken word events. The featured poet this month will be local spoken word artist and series host Melanie Lavender. Tickets are $5 and are available online at www.Fogartyville.org. Food will be available for purchase from C&D’s Sandwich Shop.

During the Open Mic audiences will enjoy spoken word performances from Forever Florida, Tash Shabazz, Becca Hadwen and Christa South. There will also be a special segment highlighting students from Booker Middle School that participate in Joanna Fox's Dragonfly Cafe. Melanie Lavender is a Spoken Word artist and a proud Sarasota native. Educated in the Sarasota County school system and Newtown community, Melanie is a wife, mother, and a Podcast/Radio host of Soul of Tha Matter. Melanie has recited at Selby Botanical Gardens, Manatee Performing Art Center, nightclubs, art galleries, and more. Writing “Psalms of The Elusive Black Housewife,” Melanie found a way to transform anxiety and depression into poetry and community activism. She chose not to give up but to use the skills taught to her by her elders to keep moving and transform that energy into creativity. The Spoken Word series has been made possible with funding support provided by the Venice Endowment Fund of the Gulf Coast Community Foundation.