ONE WORD POETRY FESTIVAL

5th ANNUAL
ONE WORD POETRY FESTIVAL

WHEN

MAY 29 - May 31, 2025

WHERE

DOWNTOWN ROCK HILL, SC

The One Word Poetry Festival is an in-person poetry festival, founded in 2021, to share the Power of Poetry and celebrate the countless ways poetry positively impacts our lives.

Celebrate our Poet Laureate

Pass the Torch Ceremony
Thursday, May 29th
7 p.m
Center for the Arts

Join us as we kick off the festival by honoring Rock HIll’s new Poet Laureate Carlo Dawson! The event will include refreshments, presentations and a reading by Carlo.

Free Entry

Support the Artists

Featured

Vibes & Verses Open Mic

$0.00

Join us for this FREE immersive outdoor open mic experience that has become one of Rock Hill’s signature events! This year’s event will feature live music from Rock Hill’s own R&B band Mellogroove, a live painting, food truck, and beverages from Main Street Bottle Shop.

If you’d like to perform, sign up at the check-in table once you arrive.

Friday, May 31st | Gettys Center parking lot

Sign up begins at 6:30pm. Show starts at 7pm

Rain location: Gettys Center Courtroom

One Word Team Poetry Slam

$10.00

Join as four amazing poetry teams from across the South engage in an epic battle of words! You will hear individual poems, group pieces and words that will inspire you. You don’t want to miss this!

Saturday, May 31st

Gettys Center Courtroom

Starts @7pm

Support Your Writing

Join a Free Poetry Workshop

Youth Poetry Workshop

Saturday, May 31
10 a.m. - 11 a.m.
Arts Council of York County
Lewandowski classroom
Learn how to make fun in this interactive workshop led by Rock Hill’s Youth Poet Laureate Genesis Medley. Sure to be a good time.
Kids age 5-12. Parents welcome.
The Power of Poetry

Saturday, May 31
10 a.m. - 11a.m.
Arts Council of York County
Upstairs Gallery
In this workshop, led by Rock HIll Poet Laureate Carlo Dawson, participants will learn how about the transformative power of poetry and how it can be used and adapted to create an impact.
This workshop is appropriate for teens & adults.

Sign Up for Free Workshops

Support One Word

There would be no festival if it were not for our amazing sponsors and generous community partners. And in keeping in line with our dedication to inclusivity and accessibility, there are options for every budget!

Become a sponsor for this year’s festival.

Sponsor the Festival

Haiku $250

Organization name in announcements, festival brochure, press release, and at least one social media tag. Logo on website.
Stanza $500

All Haiku sponsor benefits + logo in festival brochure and vendor table at one event of your choice.
Prose $1,000

All Stanza sponsor benefits + priority placement, named sponsor of one event of your choice, vendor table at 2 events & stage shout-outs daily.
2 Free Festival Passes
Epic $5,000

Be the Official Sponsor of the Entire Festival. Your organization’s name, logo, & branding will be displayed prominently in all marketing materials and at festival events. .
6 Free Festival Passe