Browns Valley residents and those from the wider Mid-Valley area are invited to attend Poetry in the Park on Sunday, Sept. 27, at 2 p.m. Yuba Sutter Arts & Culture, in collaboration with Yuba Sutter Rotary Night Club, will host this free open reading event at Sycamore Ranch Park, located at 5390 Highway 20.
The gathering aims to foster a connection between poetry and the community, welcoming individuals of all ages and experience levels. Attendees are encouraged to participate by reading their own poetry, reciting beloved poems written by others, or simply enjoying the afternoon as part of the audience. Yuba Sutter Arts emphasized that there is no pressure to perform and no previous experience is necessary, highlighting that the goal is not competition or critique, but the “simple pleasure of hearing meaningful words spoken aloud.”
The idea for this community meet-up in the Yuba foothills originated with Katy Rose, a Rotary member who is also a local author and functional medicine practitioner. A relatively new resident of the Mid-Valley, Rose expressed an interest in meeting fellow lovers of the written word, leading to the creation of this event.
A number of professional wordsmiths are scheduled to contribute to the afternoon’s synergistic moment. Marcelo Hernandez Castillo, Yuba and Sutter counties’ Poet Laureate, will be part of the action. Castillo recently received a 2026 Upstate Individual Artists Fellowship from the California Arts Council. He will be joined by Maree Gauper, whose poetry has been widely published, and her husband, Bob Gauper, a well-known memoirist, who will also provide a recital.
Yuba Sutter Arts noted that the gathering will celebrate poetry in all its forms, encompassing ancient verses, familiar classics, contemporary voices, humorous poems, spoken-word pieces, and brand-new work. Poems may be profound or playful, polished or still in progress, reflecting the event’s inclusive spirit. Organizers hope to capture a spirit reminiscent of Persian poet Omar Khayyam’s celebration of “good words, good company and a beautiful outdoor setting.”
Attendees are encouraged to bring creature comforts such as lawn chairs or picnic blankets to enhance their enjoyment of the creative verse. Should the weather turn inclement, specifically in the event of a rain storm, Poetry in the Park will move its activities indoors to the Sutter Theater Center for the Arts, located at 754 Plumas Street in Yuba City. If the event remains outdoors as planned, organizers will provide some beverages and light snacks. Attendees are also welcome to bring their own refreshments and snacks to share, including wine, as permitted under park rules.
This local initiative aligns with broader discussions about the role of poetry in society. Dana Gioia, a former California Poet Laureate who held public readings in Yuba and Sutter counties in 2017, has notably advocated for poetry to be accessible to everyday working people. In his seminal essay “Can Poetry Matter?,” Gioia argued that poetry is a craft that should be “unshackled from its prison of pretention within the Academic citadel.” He contended that the presence of poetry in culture has significant implications for the future, observing that while poetry is not the sole solution for maintaining clear and honest language, it is difficult to imagine citizens improving their language while abandoning it. Yuba Sutter Arts & Culture’s Poetry in the Park event seeks to contribute to this ongoing connection between language, art, and community in the Yuba-Sutter area.
The event is set to proceed on Sept. 27, bringing together poets and enthusiasts for an afternoon of shared verse.
