Coffee House offers place to showcase student talent

Some of the best talent at North was on display at this year’s North Street Coffee House, and according to library media specialist Angie Gunnell, this year’s group of performers continued to excel with some of the best performances in Coffee House history. This talent was on display on Feb. 17 and 18 in the library. 22 acts showed off some of the best talent at FHN through a variety of music, poetry and art.

“My favorite part is the talent,” Gunnell said. “It gets better and better every year.”

Coffee House has been a big part of showcasing the talent at North for the past eight years. Gunnell got the idea from ex-librarian Sherri Pogue, who brought the idea to her after going to a librarian conference.

“She told me about it, and both of us really wanted to bring it to North,” Gunnell said.

The first Coffee House was held in 2004. Two acts performed at the same time in different parts of the library. North embraced that first Coffee House, which consisted of 26 acts, the majority of which were music and poetry.

“Everybody loved it from the get go,” Gunnell said. “Kids always talk about how much they love it. The English teachers, all the teachers love it, but the English teachers talk about it the most.”

A few years after the first Coffee House it was decided that one day was not enough time to showcase all the talent at North. Two days were dedicated to the North Street Coffee House and it became what it is today. But despite these changes over the years, the Coffee House has always been a great way for students to show off their skills.

“I like the fact that I can express myself in front of a group of people,” third year performer Alyssa Miller said.

Due to the increasing talent that finds its way to the Coffee House each year, it is now one of the most anticipated events of the year.

“My favorite part is the music,” first year performer Darryene Small said. “It shows that we have a lot of talent here at Francis Howell North.”

By Sidney Shelton