Carpenter Coffeehouse promotes students’ talent

If you’re looking to hear talented performers and sip a cappuccino this weekend, save the trip to Mars Café. Your source of entertainment is no further than one of Drake’s very own residence halls.

On Saturday from 7-11 p.m., the lobby of Carpenter Hall will be transformed into the Carpenter Coffeehouse, a hip, coffee-scented environment where students can listen to open-mic performances while sipping on delicious warm beverages.

The event is hosted and sponsored by the Carpenter Hall Executive Council, which has been hard at work to make this program a success. Flyers advertising the event can be seen all over campus. A Facebook page for the event also exists, containing event information and performance sign-ups. The page lists over 100 invited guests, but the Carpenter EC wishes to further expand these numbers.

“Any Drake student [is] more than welcome to come perform or just be part of the audience,” said first-year EC member Weston Pickhinke.

For the past few weeks, students have been able to sign up for open-mic slots in their hall lobbies. Due to available space and time before the event, sign-ups were extended to today. However, there will be an open stage for those aspiring performers who happened to miss the sign-ups.

While typical slam poetry and acoustic performances will be showcased at Carpenter Coffeehouse, the Carpenter EC says students with all types of talents can perform.

Pickhinke encourages students to share all of their talents, including impersonations, reading poetry, comedy routines, sound effects and monologues.
“If people are intimidated by thinking this is just for musical display, don’t be deceived,” Pickhinke said. “Whatever [your] heart desires, feel more than invited to show up.”

So far, the list of performers includes Pickhinke, senior Rachel Kauffold and first-year trombone player Lucas Oshman, as well as several keyboard and slam poetry performances.

Oshman hopes that performing at the Carpenter Coffeehouse will help him work out pesky performance jitters.

“I’m nervous about performing, but also excited for it,” he said. “It will be a fun experience to get up and play for an audience.”

Apart from open mike acts, the Carpenter Coffeehouse will provide a variety of refreshments for guests to enjoy. Traditional coffee will be served, as well as hot chocolate, cider and many types of tasty desserts. Attendees are encouraged to bring a baked good to increase the variety of options. It is also suggested that guests bring their own coffee mugs in order to be environmentally friendly and display their own unique personalities.

The Carpenter EC aims to target all types of students, from performers to entertainment-lovers, with this free event.

“We believe the range of aspects of this program will make it desirable for people to participate and attend,” said first-year Carpenter Events Chair Lauren Erickson.

This year marks the second year that Carpenter is hosting a coffeehouse event, but Erickson feels that it definitely won’t be its last.

“We are creating an opportunity to bring students together from all over campus to [appreciate] the talents of their peers,” she said.

Can’t make the coffeehouse? Keep a lookout for other programs from Carpenter, including a football tournament in February and a crossover basketball tourney in March.