RIVIERA BEACH, Fla. — The city of Riviera Beach hosted a free youth summit Saturday in hopes to provide an artistic and creative outlet by writing poetry.
The workshop at the Marina Village was open to all sixth to 12th graders.
The city partnered with the creators of the National Poetry Festival. The event is partially funded by a grant from the State of Florida Youth Cultural Arts Program.
Students explored the world of spoken word and creative writing through learning speaking skills and memorization techniques.
Participants got to write their own poems and practice performing on stage during a showcase.
"Some people hear poetry and they think of Shakespeare," Desiree Reavis, CEO of Desire Group said. "We do more spoken-word poetry and it's very therapeutic. So these kids are going to learn how to take their emotions, what they’re learning inside and they’re going to be able to find a creative outlet and a safe space to write their emotions and their feelings out."
The winner of the showcase received a $1,000 college scholarship and the runner-up a $250 scholarship.
An earlier version of this story described the type kids' skills attracted to poetry. They are artistic and creative.