Mission & History at The Arts Café Mystic

---

The Arts Café has over 30 years of presenting programs featuring readings by nationally acclaimed poets and writers, complemented by music from New England's best musicians. The series is set in the lovely main gallery of the Mystic Arts Center in downtown Mystic, with cafe-style seating.

Poets and writers presented at The Arts Cafe have included Poets Laureate of the U.S. and winners of the Pulitzer Prize, National Book Award, and MacArthur "Genius Award." Music heard at The Arts Cafe has ranged from opera and classical, to jazz and rock, and many other styles and genres.

In 2007, The Arts Café received the Dorothy Mullen Arts and Humanities Award, presented by the National Recreation and Parks Association to "honor the most innovative and effective arts and humanities programs across the nation."

In 1997, the Arts Café~Mystic initiated a special program to honor the Student Poets Laureate from the region's high schools. Each year, we publicly honor these talented students with awards and honorariums, and present them to read from their work as part of our March program. They are also treated to a Poetry Writing Master Class conducted by a professional poet.