Presented by Writers & Books and the Highland Park Conservancy
June 10, 11, and 12 | 6 – 8:30 PM 

Tickets: Pay What You Can ($0, $10, $25, $50)
Highland Bowl, 1137 South Ave, Rochester, NY
Rain Venue: Third Presbyterian Church: 4 Meigs St, Rochester, NY

ASL interpreted; accessible venue

Returning for its third year, the Flower City Poetry Fest (previously “Poetry in the Bowl”) is an open-air, three-day celebration featuring award-winning poets and musicians with deep ties to New York State.

We are proud to announce this year’s headliners, Cornelius Eady and Kimiko Hahn.

Immerse yourself in poetry and live music at Rochester’s incomparable outdoor amphitheater. Bring a blanket or lawn chair and settle in to absorb the lyrics of an exciting line-up of nationally renowned writers, beloved regional poets, and power-house local musicians. Stay to meet the poets and have copies of your books signed.

Cornelius Eady, born and raised in Rochester, is the author of seven books of poetry. In 2025, he won the Academy of American Poets’ Wallace Stevens Award, which recognizes lifetime achievement in poetry, and in 2026 he read his poem “Proof” before an audience of thousands at the inauguration of NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani.

Kimiko Hahn is the author of eleven collections of poetry, including The Ghost Forest: New & Selected Poems. She is the 2025-2027 New York State Poet Laureate.

Flower City Poetry Fest 2026 - More info here