On October 25^th, Cinnabar held its first Coffeehouse of the year, an evening of music, poetry, and refreshments. Students paid $5 each for admission in order to support Cinnabar, Ward Melville’s literary magazine and creative writing club. Held in the Ward Melville cafeteria, Coffeehouse featured a wide array of talents from poets to songwriters. The audience snacked on cookies, cupcakes, and coffee while watching students display their talent in a low-pressure environment.

“I love the comfortable setting,” said performer Nick Greene, “And it’s a great opportunity to perform without worrying or being stressed.”

In preparation for the event, Cinnabar members talked to other musical organizations such as TriM, Chamber O, Camerata, and Jazz Band about performing and ended up having over twenty musicians interested. Club members came early to set up the microphones and sound equipment and provided a table full of food and drinks for the audience.

The event was also held to celebrate the National Day on Writing when students had to write responses to the prompt “Our truest life is when we are in a dream awake” by Thoreau.

The night kicked off with the song “Secrets” by One Republic, performed by Adity Sampath, Jennifer Zhong and Sandy Yin, members of the Cinnabar board. Most performers sang covers or original songs.

Donald Della Pietra, a junior who presented the poem “To A Mouse” by Robert Burns, commented, “the Coffehouse is an extraordinary, entertaining experience that facilitates both personal enjoyment and cultural learning. For example, my poem was in Middle Scots and was the basis of the now-commonplace literary work Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck.” His animated performance truly shows the variety of talents at Ward Melville.

The evening was a success, raising a significant amount of money. If you missed it, the next Coffeehouse will be held in December!