Festival 2026

Open Mic Night

Organised by North Berwick Coastal Community Connections

Saturday 7 November 2026, 7-9pm

St Columba’s Cafe, Westgate, North Berwick

This activity is open to the public. Please register in advance. Performers welcome.

Absent Friends Week is a national festival of storytelling and remembrance - a space to remember those who are no longer with us and share the stories that keep them present in our lives. This year, Coastal Community Connections explores Legacy Burdens – the expectations, beliefs and behaviours around grief that we inherit from our families, communities and wider culture. These can shape how we think grief should look, what we feel able to express and what we learn to keep hidden. 

Hosted by Paul Duffney of Tyne & Esk Writers, a welcoming open mic night bringing together words, music and creative expression around absent friends, grief, loss and a celebration of the continuing bonds of love - come along to share something or simply to listen.

If you would like to read or perform on the night, please email: admin@nbccommunityconnections.org.

To book your place as an audience member, please visit here.