Empowering People of Color Open Mic: Love Fest Takeover with Aya de León

Join us at La Peña Cultural Center for a special edition of our Empowering People of Color Open Mic, hosted by Berkeley’s Poet Laureate, Aya de León! This month’s takeover celebrates the 30th anniversary of Aya’s legendary Love Fest, combining the empowering energy of our open mic series with the revolutionary spirit of an alternative Valentine’s celebration.

This is a night for voices that have been historically erased, marginalized, and misrepresented—BIPOC, women, LGBTQIA+ folks, immigrants/migrants, and youth performers. Share your truth, connect with community, and experience the power of art to transform the world.

Date & Time:
Friday, Feburary 14th, 2025
Doors open at 7:00 PM | Show: 7:30 PM - 11:00 PM

Tickets:

• General Admission: Sliding scale $10-$25
• Youth (18 & under): $5

Tickets are available online and at the door. No one will be turned away for lack of funds.

From 1995 to 2013, Aya de León’s Love Fest redefined what it means to celebrate love, making La Peña a haven for radical self-love, community connection, and activism through spoken word and music. By challenging consumerist and exclusionary narratives, Aya created a space to honor love in all its forms: love for self, spirit, family, community, and democracy.

In the 1990s, Aya famously married herself, a revolutionary act of self-love she chronicled in Essence Magazine. In 2004, she took it a step further, hosting a mass self-marriage ceremony at La Peña. This year, she returns to honor the three-decade legacy of Love Fest, continuing to uplift marginalized voices and inspire a new generation of love warriors.

Aya de León is the Poet Laureate of the City of Berkeley, a creative writing teacher at UC Berkeley, and the Director of June Jordan’s Poetry for the People. She is the award-winning author of ten novels, including winners of the Northern California Book Award, the Jane Addams Prize for Social Justice Children’s Literature, and multiple International Latino Book and Independent Publisher Awards.

Aya’s work has appeared in Harper’s Bazaar, Ebony, The Root, and on Def Poetry, and she has been featured in the New York Times’ “By the Book” series. In 2022, she organized Black Literature vs. the Climate Emergency, an online conference exploring the role of literature in addressing global crises.

Learn more about Aya and her work:
Website: ayadeleon.com
Instagram: @ayadeleonwrites
X (formerly Twitter): @ayadeleon

• Public Transit: The 18 bus line stops directly across the street (Shattuck & Woolsey), and Ashby BART is just two blocks away.
• Parking: Free street parking is available, or park at the Ashby BART station for a fee.
• Bike-Friendly: Bike racks are available outside the venue.

• La Peña is a wheelchair-accessible venue with step-less entry, wide doorways, and accessible restrooms.
• Restrooms are all-gender
• Masks are strongly encouraged. If you’re experiencing COVID-19, cold, or flu-like symptoms, please consider staying home to protect our community. HEPA air purifiers operate throughout our space.

We strive to make La Peña a welcoming, accessible space for everyone. If you have any specific needs or questions about accessibility, contact us in advance, and we’ll do our best to accommodate. Email us at

Host or Publisher La Peña Cultural Center