Creativity, Connection, and Community
Family Meal Open Mic is a monthly event that showcases talented poets, musicians, and other creatives in an inclusive space. Previously hosted at Odo in Tuckahoe and Harper’s in Dobbs Ferry, Family Meal is now taking place at Simple Motive Brewing, and founder/host Maria Alvarez is proud to bring her creative community to her hometown of Yonkers.
How Family Meal Came to Be
Maria, a hospitality veteran, started this series as a New Year’s Resolution at the end of 2023, one she could stick to that was important to her.
“I’m always grinding and neurotic about work, restaurants are time-consuming. Growing up, art was super important to me, and I hadn’t dedicated any time to it as an adult,” Alvarez explains. “2024 was the year I resolved to be more creative, but I also needed to be held accountable, holding an open mic night made that possible.”
Maria’s work in the restaurant industry inspired the name of the event. “Family Meal” is the time between getting a restaurant ready and dinner service; a moment of calm between the front and back of the house, where everyone can chat about the day over a shared meal. But it’s not so simple to just host an open mic night—it takes having the right setting, working with good people, and having confidence. Maria turned to friend and fellow poet Carolina Abreu for help. Carolina, who would become Family Meal’s co-producer and creative coordinator, is a published author herself. Her poetry collection Speak English, You’re in America, explores the complexities of belonging and identity as an immigrant in the United States after spending most of her childhood in the Dominican Republic.
“Carolina is amazing and does so much for me behind the scenes. Whenever I’m panicking, she’s the one who’s got my back, from finding talent to keeping me calm. The first one we held was in February, hosted at Odo, the restaurant I was managing at the time. Carolina was the featured poet, and a total of five people showed up—four of which were my best friends. But the vibes were amazing, and it was in the books that we made it happen.”
Photo Courtesy of @FamilyMealOpenMic on Instagram
From there, Maria scheduled a second one a month later. Then another, and another, with more and more people attending each time. As it grew, they stuck to the original format of having one featured poet that opens and closes the event, with some additional material after intermission, to help take the pressure off the audience and anyone who’s signed up. The intermission serves as not just a break to mingle and get drinks and food but also to encourage creativity and build confidence.
“The sign-up sheet at the start of the night might only have a few people on it, but once we’re at the break, everyone realizes that it’s a safe space. During intermission, the list fills up. We go from five people to 35 people. It’s such a welcoming space to come in, hang out, and feel the vibes. The more it grew, I was worried that the welcoming, safe feeling would be diluted, but somehow we’ve been able to hold onto it and have been protective of the space and champions of it,” states Alvarez.
On the Move
Family Meal Open Mic continued to grow month after month, even after a schedule forced the event to move from Odo to Harper’s. “Odo was my restaurant, my home turf, but Harper’s patio was so magical. As the sun would go down, it would be even more beautiful, and it felt so safe and secluded. We went from 24 people attending to our most attended, at 75/80 people in Harper’s.”
Bringing the event to its third location, Simple Motive Brewing, is a homecoming for Maria, a native of the city. “It’s been super rewarding for me, as someone from Yonkers who has lived there her entire life. It’s a beautiful space, so I’ve been so happy to be there.”
And as for Maria? She hasn’t lost her creative spark.
“I’m still writing poetry, but it’s become so much more than I ever could have imagined in December of 2023. I just feel so blessed to be a part of it, let alone to have created it.”
February’s Family Meal Open Mic
The next Family Meal Open Mic event takes place at Simple Motive Brewing on February 24 and will feature Pushchart Prize and Best of the Net nominated author Alise Versella. She has been published widely in journals such as The Opiate and Press Pause Press and long-listed for the Sappho Prize. Doors are at 6, poetry starts at 7, sign-ups open on the day of the event. RSVP on the Family Meal website.
