Empowering People of Color Open Mic: LOVE FEST TAKEOVER!

2025 marks the 30th Anniversary of Aya de Leon’s legendary LOVE FEST, an alternative Valentine’s event that took place at La Peña from 1995 to 2013, celebrating love of self, family, spirit, community and democracy through spoken word and music.

Reappropriating a holiday that ostensibly celebrates patriarchal love, leveraging consumerism and getting easily weaponized against women, femmes, and gender fluid folks, Aya will continue to lift up the voices of artists, particularly women, POC, LGBTQAI+ and youth performers for an inspiring celebration of love and community!

Come celebrate the 30th Anniversary of LOVE FEST with us, Friday, Feb 14th, 2025.

More about Aya de León:

Aya de León is the Poet Laureate of the City of Berkeley. She teaches creative writing at UC Berkeley and has been the Director of June Jordan’s Poetry for the People. Aya has published ten novels, including winners of the Northern California Book Award, the Jane Addams prize for social justice children’s literature, two first-place International Latino Book Awards and three first place Independent Publisher Awards. Aya’s work has also appeared in Harper’s Bazaar, Ebony, The Root, and on Def Poetry, and she was featured in “By the Book” in the New York Times. In spring 2022, she organized an online conference entitled Black Literature vs. the Climate Emergency (available on YouTube).

Website: ayadeleon.com

Photos from past Empowering People of Color Open Mic iterations at La Peña, 2023-2024.