Jazz Poetry Cafe

Carisa Brown brings her successful Jazz Poetry Cafe to St. Augustine on the fourth Friday of select months, November 28, 2025 through November 27, 2026, from 7:00 to 11:00 p.m. The Jazz Poetry Cafe transforms the Willie Galimore Center into an upscale, discreetly lit cafe, complete with a stage.

The goal is twofold: to offer elevated entertainment and to create a venue for emerging artists to share their music and poems. The evening begins with the opportunity to chat and mingle at 7:00 p.m., before the entertainment starts at 8:00 p.m. 

Enjoy music by a group of musicians and vocalists performing jazz, R&B, and neo-soul, interspersed with presentations by poets and spoken-word artists. An open mic session welcomes emerging artists and serves as an audition for future evenings. The evening concludes with a performance by a premier local house band from Northeast Florida.

You can purchase food and soft drinks from a local food truck, and the event includes a cash bar. The VIP section, closest to the stage, has eight round tables that seat eight. Beyond that section, additional tables of eight offer general admission seating in a café atmosphere. A row or two of chairs in the back provide additional general admission seating.

Jazz Poetry Cafe started in Jacksonville and has expanded to Brunswick, Georgia, and St. Augustine, Florida. Their mission is to create an exclusively upscale and diverse environment. Patrons are expected to dress with style for the evening, in chic attire—a few steps above shorts and flip-flops.

Admission: Tickets range from $22.00 to $38.00 per person. You can purchase tickets in advance. This is an adult event.

When: On the fourth Friday of most months, November 2025 through November 2026, from 7:00 to 11:00 p.m.

Where: Willie Galimore Community Center, 399 Riberia Street, St. Augustine, 32084