Lit Crawl Merced, Co-Presented with Litquake, SF Literary Festival

Welcome to Lit Crawl Merced, Co-Presented with Litquake, SF Literary Festival! Join us for a night of literary fun at Coffee Bandits, the Merced Multicultural Arts Center, and El Capitan Hotel (EC). Accomplished authors, poets, and performers will come together to celebrate Lit Crawl Merced, representing poets throughout the San Joaquin Valley on Friday, May 9, from 5:00 pm – 8:00 pm in downtown Merced. This event is in support of Merced Mayor Matt Serratto's official announcement of Joyce Dale as Merced's first Poet Laureate, which will take place at the Merced City Council Meeting on May 5. Additionally, the public is invited to attend Ms. Dale's inauguration at the Merced Multicultural Arts Center on Saturday, May 31, at 3 PM.

Until then, poetry lovers and poets, please join us Friday, May 9, at 5:00 p.m. at Coffee Bandits, 309 West Main Street, to listen to poetry and join in the festivities. The Lit Crawl will continue at the Merced Multicultural Arts Center, 645 West Main Street, beginning at 6:00 p.m., and at 6:45 p.m., enjoy the poetry of California Poet Laureate Lee Herrick, Modesto Poet Laureate Angela Drew, and local poets at El Capitan Hotel (EC), 609 W. Main Street in Merced.

Lit Crawl Merced is sponsored by the Litquake Foundation project and supported by the Merced County Arts Council. San Francisco's Litquake literary festival runs October 9-25, 2025, with affiliated Lit Crawls across the United States and worldwide.

For more information, please contact the Poet Laureate Committee at 209-761-9256 and 209-658-0729.

Merced Poet Laureate, Joyce Dale

The public is invited to attend Ms. Dale's inauguration at the Merced Multicultural Arts Center on Saturday, May 31, at 3 PM.

Also check out other Arts events in Merced, Literary Art events in Merced, Festivals in Merced.