Cups of steaming hot chocolate warmed the hands of poets and musicians during the second “Seeds” Open Mic Night at Harold’s Coffee Lounge on the evening of Jan. 19. Students, teachers, and faculty attended the event, which consisted of three hours of poems, musical instruments, a comedy routine, a special teacher performance, and even a romantic invitation to homecoming.

“I think [Open Mic Night] is a great opportunity for different artists to express their viewpoints and really unite a creative community through the love of the coffee,” communications junior Stella Vasilopoulos, who read an original poem about war, said. “My favorite part is listening to the different performances because everyone has a vast amount of talent, and hearing people’s personal pieces they might not otherwise perform makes it really special.”

The event consisted of many unique presentations, such as strings senior Bailey Warren’s performance of the Canadian song “Hangman’s Reel” on the fiddle.

“It’s my last year, I wanted to perform for my peers, and I don’t really get to do fiddle music that much in school,” Warren said. “I figured [Open Mic Night] was a great opportunity to show what the strings department can do besides classical music.”

Advertising played a key role in the success of the event. “Seeds” prepared multiple ads to ensure that people were aware of Open Mic Night.

“We made a commercial, hung posters, posted social media updates, and used the morning announcements [to advertise the event],” communications junior and “Seeds” Advertising Editor Grace Sullivan said. “Through these efforts, the staff successfully informed students of the event.”

The event was filled with pleasant surprises. Social studies teacher John Bauer became the star of the night when he performed the music and vocals of “The Times They Are A-Changin’” and the humorous song “The Cat Came Back.” Also, communications junior Kayla Kirshenbaum asked her girlfriend to homecoming in the form of a poem.

“I [used] a poem to ask my girlfriend to homecoming because when I asked [her to homecoming earlier] it was casual, but now this is really formal, and I wanted to do something big…to embarrass her,” Kirshenbaum said.

The second “Seeds” Open Mic Night mirrored the success of the original, and brought the Dreyfoos community together through the power of words and delicious drinks.

“[Open Mic Night] is a great opportunity because it’s a very supportive environment so people looking for performance experience can feel less nervous,” communications junior and “Seeds” staffer Samantha Marshall said. “Plus, you can watch some of the more experienced performers and learn from them. It’s a really diverse mix of people from different backgrounds and different art to share, so you get a good picture of our school and our community.”