Happy holidays, everyone. As we wrap up 2024 with our final event of the year, we’d like to take a moment to reflect.

Spittoon, which began as a singular Poetry Night, a vision of Matthew Byrne, is now a collective with events almost every Thursday, held through rain, shine, covid, sandstorms, summer hot, winter cold, you name it. There really isn’t a secret to our longevity: it is you, those who make up our cherished community, who believe in creativity and expression. And behind the scenes, it is a small group of dedicated volunteers who keep the wheels moving, always forward.

One of those people is Ivan Stacy, a lecturer at Beijing Normal University who started the Spittoon U initiative, which aims to bring Spittoon to Beijing’s university students. Ivan isn’t a stranger to poetry, though it’s more likely you’ll have seen him at Fiction and/or Storytelling Night. On Thursday, December 26, he takes the Spittoon stage for the final time as a full-time Beijing resident. He’ll be moving down south, to warmer climes. We hope you’ll swing by to give him a proper send-off.

Join us on Thursday, December 26, at Chill Bar (No. 2 Andingmen West Dajie; 安定门西大街2号) at 8 p.m. As always, the event is free.