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09 – 04 – 2026 Sacred Grounds Newsletter Contact Dan Some of the
more common links related to Sacred Grounds Sacred Videos from the Zoom
Room Cafe Days Videos These are the ongoing poetry events I am
aware of: The San
Francisco One Page Guide to Open Mic Poetry
in the years prior to my becoming host. Poetry Circle at Sacred
Grounds Cafe While Sacred is still gathering at the
cafˇ, it is also having events at the Park Branch Library, 1833
Page Street. These events are not library sponsored but
will be lively, impactful, and wondrous to behold, come one come all. See the
zoom or live venue details below. If youÕd like to
know what is going with Sacred there will be updates in this newsletter as
well as on the Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/groups/203539673028715/ Updates
for the Zoomroom – Third Wednesdays Richard Ivanhoe hosts The Third WednesdayÕs Sacred Grounds on Zoom. Be advised the Zoom Meeting information will be kept
constant: Meeting
ID: 843 8048 5669 Passcode: 549372 Web Link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84380485669?pwd=CSwbKRyRMf8RpyOdL68k0MmdLnOhKS.1 Contact Richard via
his email: richardivanhoe@sbcglobal.net
be sure to put Sacred Grounds in the subject line of the email. Here's the lineup
for September 16: Updates
for the Live Venue – Third Sundays Contact the hosts of
the Cafˇ and or the Page St library: either Karen Pierce Gonzalez: https://linktr.ee/KPGFolkHeart or Antoinette Vella Payne: Antoinettepayne1@Gmail.com and be sure to put Sacred Grounds in the
subject line of the email.
October: Brett Benson will be the feature at the Page Street
library, 1833 Page St - the arrangements
are being made with regard to day and time.
______ Some Prior Updates ________ Updates as of 3/21/2026 Sacred Grounds will be continuing on! This
newsletter will be the primary source of information about how Sacred Grounds
evolves during the transition to new
hosts and scheduling. The link to this newsletter will be in Facebook
postings as well as a series of emails
sent out during the transition. One can also email me, see the link at
the top of the newsletter, should that be necessary. Zoom Room
Update The first zoomroom, hosted by Richard
Ivanhoe and co-piloted by Tommi Avicolli Mecca, Brett Benson went well! I
initiated the meeting using the usual zoom information but for the next zoom
meeting, again hosted by Richard, will be on the third Wednesday in April,
the 15. This is the new schedule, the third Wednesday of the month starting
at 7pm and this will become the usual
Zoom Room information: The Zoom Meeting for April 15th
and onward: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84380485669?pwd=CSwbKRyRMf8RpyOdL68k0MmdLnOhKS.1 Meeting
ID: 843 8048 5669 Passcode: 549372 Cafˇ Update At this time, Antoinette advised that
the plan is to have the next event at Sacred Grounds Cafˇ on the third Sunday
of April, the 19th. The address
of the cafˇ is: 2095 Hayes @ Cole. The start time will be 12:30 and it will
conclude at 2:30. ______ Prior Posts ________ Updates for Sacred as of 3/16/2026 Notes
from the Cafˇ event on March 15, Info
regarding March 18, the first new Zoom Room From March 15
at the Cafˇ: Richard and Antoinette let me know about
the first new live Sacred Grounds event today. Richard said, there were
seven in attendance - Antoinette, Stephanie, Brett, Martin, Alice, Cat and
Richard. Cat was audience and the rest read. There was some background
noise, but they were able to hear everyone. There was some talk of
trying a different venue. Antoinette said the group sat at one table & read, 10 minutes each.
There was room for at the couch area to expand there if more people show up. Even
as low key as it was today, it was good to meet with poets in person &
read. The cafe was
busy. A steady flow of customers in and out and there were a couple of times
we were competing with the coffee grinder or exuberant voices. I suspect some
poets would have issue with that but in general it was low key and very enjoyable.
What was nice about this reading was that we commented and talked a
little bit between poets.
March 18 The
Zoom Room For
this coming Wednesday, the
first of the new Zoom Rooms Brett Benson has agreed to be last word, which
fills out the specialties. On Wednesday, March 18, we will use the usual
meeting number: 221-224-5102 – and password: 135246 Zoom Link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/2212245102?pwd=QlRBdm5rNXhTSVhkcnN4cDhQVWdPZz09
Beginning
April 15 and continuing on the third Wednesday each month, this will be the Zoom
Room information: Topic: Sacred
Grounds Online Time: Apr 15, 2026 06:30 PM Pacific Time
(US and Canada) Join Zoom Meeting on April 15th https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84380485669?pwd=CSwbKRyRMf8RpyOdL68k0MmdLnOhKS.1 Meeting
ID: 843 8048 5669 Passcode: 549372 ______ ________ Regarding March
15th March 18th There will be a live open mic! On Sunday, March 15 a pilot
event will take place at the Cafˇ.
If you are interested, arrive before 12:30 when it starts and it will
conclude at 2:30. Karen Pierce
Gonzalez, Antoinette Vella Payne, and Brett Benson are part of this effort. A
description of the debut live event
follows on: Antoinette Vella Payne (host of 1428 Poets) will host this event
at Sacred Grounds Coffee House (2095 Hayes, SF 94117) Antoinette will be
reading from What Happens When You
Live on Haight Street and from her latest work in progress, The Way to Brave Things; a View from
Grace to Bliss. The open mic sign-ups will be available at start time
– 4 min. max including commentary. March 18th There will be a ZoomRoom! Richard
Ivanhoe will be hosting a
zoomroom on the third Wednesday of every month. The first show is slated for
March 18 at 7 pm PST. The usual zoom
information will be used for this
meeting while Richard will create
new zoomrooms for all those that follow. The zoom information will be
posted on SacredÕs Facebook
postings and you may contact him via his email which is: richardivanhoe@sbcglobal.net Feature
- Alan Harris Mini-Feature - Tommi
Avicolli Mecca ______ ________ The Wonderful
event at the Page Street Library on February 25th! This is just a bit of a summary of the
evening with some important updates. We began setting up at 5pm; the library
staff was very helpful, as was Karen Melander Magoon, the first to arrive.
Wendy Wolters and Richard Ivanhoe also helped get the venue ready. I did not
record the event wanting to keep things easy and simple. I had a chance to talk about why I chose
to retire, essentially it is a part of my trying to simplify my life, free up
more time, allowing for more possibilities, a focus on my personal life as
well as the health and well being of myself and my family. I spoke about the
nature of poetry, the spoken word, Truth, eternity, and infinity all in but a
few minutes. Hear Ye; hear ye, indeed! David Erdreich then came to the mic and
read a special piece honoring the venue and how I managed things. He also
presented me with a communally funded set of gifts, some very tasty
chocolates, I mean to say wow— as well as a gift certificate to Chez
Panisse, a high end establishment in Berkeley, did I say wow? Wow! I will be
sending out my thankful regards to everyone involved with that effort, David
you were the utmost in considerate graciousness. Wendy Wolters followed on presenting a fine piece of
poetry honoring poets, poetry, SacredÕs Community and myself – perfect! Then we began the poetry. Antoinette,
the eveningÕs keynote, read from one of my books, a collection of Sci-Fi
short stories, Tales of Earth, which also has some poems in it. She selected
a favorite poem of mine, ŅYou mustnÕt be afraid of Death.Ó I couldnÕt have
been happier, well done, my friend. There then followed the open mic where many fine moments
blossomed, infusing us all with inspired examples of compassion, caring,
love, warmth, memories, gratitude and more. Attending the evening and or
reading: DavidE and NicoleM,
MartinJ, JackM, AntoinnetteVP, MelodyAB, via zoom, RobertR, TommiAM, via
zoom, ClaraH, BarbaraS, DanO,
who wanted to listen, DanielB, WendyW and RichardI who all read before the Mini Feature Kitty
Costello who honored Leonard Irving, Richard Sanderell, Marsha Campbell and
one of hers about Carlos Ramirez called "St. Carlos the Melodious: A
Found Poem." The other poem I read of mine is called "Who Has the
Mic?" - After her we heard from Don Altadena, CarolB, and Revolt who
gave us a beautiful rendition of ŅWhat a Wonderful World. NicoleA attended
but wanted to support and listen on.
Somewhere in the mix I read a couple of
my favorite pieces, ŅYou are not BrokenÓ ŅWhere is your Heart?Ó and a humorous haiku. All in all, it was a memorable event and
we were able to conclude in accord with the needs of the library. Richard
Ivanhoe actually read the final piece, having had the Last Word as a door
prize from the last zoomroom event on February 4th. ______ ________ Upcoming February 25th The
next event will be on February 25th - we will gather in the
meeting room of the Park Branch Library, 1833 Page Street and begin setting
up between 5 and 5:30pm. While this is not a Library sponsored program,
it will be one where those interested can share their thoughts, poetry,
music, and we can have some conversation about what is to come. The evening
will conclude at 7:30pm. Nicole Azalee, who lives in the east bay is willing
to give disabled poets a ride to the event, please contact me, via email and
IÕll send word to her. This is a link to the Park Branch: https://sfpl.org/locations/park Because
I am retiring, IÕd like to say something about SacredÕs future. For some
time I envisioned a process for this change would be similar to what happened
before I became the host of Sacred Grounds – when Johanna Wedgwood, the
long time host, passed on. Back then a group of poets, met, talked, and,
eventually, I volunteered. This time, having time to plan, IÕve been talking
with many of those who have co-hosted or helped out in other ways so as to
make this transition easier. There are some plans being discussed and between
now and February 25th, IÕll keep the community apprised of developments via
email, this newsletter, and the Facebook group https://www.facebook.com/groups/203539673028715/ ______ ________ ______ ________ ______ ________
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