Two decades after a West Palm Beach poet opened her first open mic, The Stage is marking 20 years of giving young artists a platform with a Spoken Word Gala scheduled for Nov. 21 at The Belvedere in West Palm Beach. The anniversary celebration will feature nationally recognized poets, student performers and live music, with proceeds supporting the National Poetry Month Youth Summit that has grown out of the organization's work.
Desiree Karnis Reavis founded The Stage in 2006 as a spoken-word poetry and open-mic platform in Palm Beach County, according to an interview with Voyage MIA. Reavis, described as a poet, TEDx speaker and community advocate, has said poetry gave her a place to express what she could not say aloud, and that she created The Stage so others could be heard and feel seen, according to Florida Weekly. The Stage describes itself as a platform for emerging artists to share talents, build confidence and connect through spoken word, per the same report.
A Night of Poetry, Student Voices and Live Music
The anniversary celebration begins Nov. 21, opening with what organizers are calling a Golden Hour VIP reception running from 7 to 8 p.m., Florida Weekly reports. Performances follow from 8 to 10:30 p.m., featuring both nationally recognized poets and student performers alongside live music from the Matt Brown Band and Digital Vibez, according to the same account. An Eventbrite listing separately identifies the event as The Stage: A Spoken Word Gala(ish), a 20th Anniversary Celebration set for Nov. 21 at The Belvedere in West Palm Beach.
Tickets for the evening are tiered, with general admission priced at $40, VIP tickets at $85, and a VIP table for 10 available for $750, per Florida Weekly's reporting. Reavis told Voyage MIA the gala represents the culmination of The Stage's 20-year journey, calling it the organization's first Spoken Word Gala.
From Open Mic to Youth Scholarship Pipeline
What began as a monthly open-mic night has since branched into youth programming aimed at literacy and creative expression. The Stage's roots trace back to shows held the second Friday of every month, according to a 2013 page from The Stage Live, which at the time described the organization as showcasing poetry, comedy, hip-hop and live music across South Florida. The Stage says it conducts community outreach while providing a platform for showcasing and developing talent, according to its own site.
That mission eventually produced the National Poetry Month Youth Poetry Summit, described by its organizer, The Desired Group, as a free community-based event for students in grades 6 through 12 designed to empower and motivate young people through spoken-word poetry and creative writing. Proceeds from the anniversary gala will support that summit, per Florida Weekly, which has served more than 700 students and provides creative expression opportunities, scholarships, laptops, journals, gift cards and other resources, the outlet reports. Reavis told Voyage MIA that over the summit's first four years, organizers awarded thousands of dollars in scholarships and distributed laptops, journals, gift cards and other resources to students. She said that work has since evolved into Power of Words, a nonprofit initiative.
Addressing a Local Literacy Gap
The youth summit's emphasis on reading and writing comes against a backdrop of literacy challenges documented in Palm Beach County. Around 22% of county residents age 16 and older lack basic literacy skills, according to the Literacy Coalition of Palm Beach County, as reported by WLRN. The same report, citing National Center for Education Statistics data, found that nearly half of all third-graders in the county were not reading at grade level.
The summit itself has grown steadily since its early years. Its 2024 edition, held in Riviera Beach, marked the event's second year as a free community gathering for middle- and high-school students, combining workshops and performances meant to promote literacy and mental health, WLRN reported at the time. Students who signed up for that year's poetry slam competed for up to $3,000 in college scholarships, according to the station. Florida Weekly reports The Stage will hold its fifth annual youth summit on April 17, 2027, offering students a chance to discover the power of their words.
The push to bring spoken word to Riviera Beach predates even the youth summit. A National Poetry Month Festival at the Riviera Beach Marina Village Event Center ran from 3 to 7 p.m. on April 24, 2021, according to WLRN's earlier coverage, with a lineup that included a performer identified as Consider This, a co-founder of The Stage. Two decades after Reavis first opened the mic, that same throughline — local poets building opportunities for the next generation — carries into this month's anniversary gala.
