The Council on Culture & Arts is excited to announce our first ever Youth Poetry Contest, in celebration of National Poetry Month in April. We are looking for original, creative pieces on any theme. The submission deadline is April 10, 2026.

ELIGIBILITY:

This contest is open to all high school students in Leon County. 

Students enrolled in Public, Private, Charter Schools, or Homeschooling in the area are eligible.

ORIGINALITY:

Poems must be original and unpublished. 

This is your opportunity to share your unique, vibrant voice!

Any use of AI or large language models like ChatGPT is expressly prohibited and will result in immediate disqualification. Plagiarism of any kind will also result in disqualification. 

REQUIREMENTS:

Submissions are accepted in .doc, .docx, or PDF formats.

There is no minimum requirement for length. Poems should not exceed two pages. 

Each student may only enter 1 poem. 

Poems should be written in English, though they may feature multilingual elements. 

FORMATTING/CONTENT:

Poems may be on any theme of the students' choosing. 

Please use discretion regarding sensitive topics (vulgarity/offensive material will not be accepted).

Poems may be free verse (we love free verse!), or adhere to an established poetic form (sonnet, haiku, ode, etc). Students may note in their bio if they want to highlight the use of a specific form.

There are no font or styling requirements, but please make sure the work is legible. 

Do not include name or biographical information in the poem document, as poems will be judged blindly.

BIO:

Please include a 1-3 sentence bio with your entry. This may include information on the students' school, accomplishments, writing experience, interests/hobbies, or details about their poem. 

READING/PRIZE:

1st Place: $150

2nd Place: $100

3rd Place: $50

(Prizes sponsored by Windwood Communications)

The finalists of this contest will be invited to read their poems at an awards ceremony on April 15 at 6:30PM at the upstairs cafe of Midtown Reader. The winner will receive the opportunity to create their own broadside print of their poem with Sangha Press.

For questions or more information, email COCA Arts Education Coordinator Dorie Spangler at dorie@tallahasseearts.org. 

Overview

The Council on Culture & Arts in partnership with the Artists' League of Big Bend presents He(art)beat of the Phoenix, a curated retrospective highlighting outstanding works previously juried into ALBB exhibitions over the past five years.

This exhibition celebrates the strength, evolution, and artistic excellence recently demonstrated by ALBB. The exhibition will showcase some of the most accomplished work exhibited during this period and present it collectively to the Tallahassee community.

Please read the full Exhibition Prospectus carefully before completing an application.

COCA has three grant programs available for the period of October 1, 2026 – September 30, 2027:

• Cultural Grant
• Cultural Tourism Marketing Grant
• Local Community Grant

An eligible organization can submit a single application to all three programs. Please read the FY27 Guidelines prior to submitting an application.

Be aware that this grant application has multiple parts.

1. Clicking "submit" will bring you to the form, “FY27 COCA Grant Programs – Grant Selection.” Please complete and submit this form. This should take approximately 5-10 minutes to complete.
2. Based on your answer to the question “Please select the grant programs from which you would like to request funding,” you will be immediately assigned the following forms:

• All applicants will receive a "Basic Eligibility" form.
• Applicants who wish to request the Cultural Grant and/or the Cultural Tourism Marketing Grant will receive the form “FY27 COCA Grant Programs – CG + CTMG.”
• Applicants who wish to request the Local Community Grant will receive the form “FY27 COCA Grant Programs – LCG.

 All relevant forms (Basic Eligibility, CG + CTMG, LCG) must be submitted by May 22, 2026 at 11:59 p.m.