Register today for "In the Hights" on 10/12/25!

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They showed Lin Manuel Miranda's brilliant "In The Heights" musical at Woodminster Amphitheater this summer...and I couldn't resist the opportunity to clap back with an invitation to "In the Hights," a curated cabaret of characters who cavorted in creativity some hundred years ago, and created the Cascade. Please share this information in your newsletter!

At the turn of the last century, Joaquin Miller held “bandit barbecues” at his artist’s retreat known as “The Hights” — now known as Joaquin Miller Park. Miller and other writers in the 1890s “Oakland gang” called their readings and skits “jinks.” Join us for a community-sourced meal orchestrated by James Farais of Indigenous Edibles and get to know the Friends of Joaquin Miller Park, an organization of dedicated park volunteers. Stay for a short “lojinks festival” featuring local personalities and literary lights speaking California’s founding voices back into life.

Writers/artists l-r: Yone Noguchi, Ambrose Bierce, Jack London, Fanny Stevenson, Gertrude Boyle, Takeshi Kanno, Joaquin Miller, Charles Warren Stoddard, Bret Harte, Ina Coolbrith. I
n front: keeper of the flame Juanita Miller

Confirmed readers/performers include historian Richard Schwartz, California Writers Club President & minister Debi Mason, historical creative Richelle Leiberman, District 5 councilwoman Janani Ramachandran, and Oakland Poet Laureate Ayodele Nzinga. Hosted by Kristen Caven, CWC Writer in Residence at Joaquin Miller Park. Come and check out the Berkeley Branch's new collection, the "California Writers Library" of rare books. 

What: FOJMP Annual Meeting and Literary Arts Festival
When: Sunday, October 12, 2025, 11:30am
Where: California Writers Circle a.k.a. Fire Circle, the historic “community kitchen”. 

Park on Joaquin Miller Road and walk up Sanborn Drive or through the Oval.

Drive up Sanborn Drive from the Abbey (at the yellow gate) for Limited Mobility parking.

Schedule of Events:

  • 11:30-12:30pm FOJMP Annual Meeting + Cooking
  • 12:30 – 2pm Lunch + Program
  • 2-3pm Monument Hikes
  • 3-3:30pm Solar Cake & Closing

Guests, Performers, Sponsors: Register today for “In The Hights!”

This event is free and open to the public with an RSVP. 

Learn more and watch for more info at  https://tinyurl.com/HightsFest

Location: California Writers Circle, Oakland, CA 94602, USA

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