Join us for a thrilling night of poetry as the final four teams of the All Writes Reserved (AWR) Youth Spoken Word Festival bring their original, spoken word poetry to the Holland Performing Arts Center.  

Students from more than 30 middle schools, high schools, and community sites across Nebraska and Southwest Iowa have spent eight months rehearsing and perfecting their poetry as they prepare for their moment on stage. Five judges will determine the highest-scoring team and crown our 2023 AWR champions. 

Join us for a thrilling night of poetry as the final four teams of the All Writes Reserved (AWR) Youth Spoken Word Festival bring their original, spoken word poetry to the Holland Performing Arts Center. 

Students from more than 30 middle schools, high schools, and community sites across Nebraska and Southwest Iowa, have spent eight months perfecting and rehearsing their poetry as they prepare for their moment on stage. Five judges will determine the highest-scoring team and crown our 2023 AWR champions. 

AWR is a program of the Nebraska Writers Collective (NWC). What began as a small competition with 12 teams in 2011, has since evolved into a 30-team festival which celebrates some of Nebraska’s and Iowa’s most talented young creatives.  

Omaha Entertainment and Arts award-winning DJ, Crabrangucci, will perform throughout the evening, and American Sign Language (ASL) interpreters will interpret all dialogue and performances.  

This event is free and open to the public. Metered parking, garage parking, and accessible parking are available.