News
May 29th-June 5th to be declared STORY WEEK in St. Marys
On Saturday, May 29th at the entrance to Milt Dunnell Field, (The Flats), please join the members of the board of St. Marys Storytelling Inc., Artistic Director of the Once Upon a Thames Storytelling Festival Carol McLeod and the Mayor of St. Marys Jamie Hahn, as he declares the upcoming week “Story Week” for the Town of St. Marys.
The 7th Annual Once Upon a Thames Storytelling Festival happens in St. Marys on Friday June 4th and Saturday June 5th, but Artistic Director Carol McLeod would like to issue a challenge to the people of the area. “We celebrate story for one weekend here in St. Marys, but I would like people to start thinking of their own story throughout the year. Because our theme for this year’s festival is Coming Home, I want people to think about their own personal story, their family’s, the history of their home, their town, their school, and on Saturday, June 5th, I invite them to come down to the Flats and share those stories by taking part in two very unique community art projects”.
As well as having storytelling workshops with two Master Storytellers, the Once Upon a Thames Storytelling Festival is offering two free workshops at the Flats from 9am till noon on Saturday, June 5th. “Paper Trails Storytelling” is going to capture the personal and local stories that McLeod is hoping people will be willing to share. Storyteller Brad Woods from Guelph and his family will be asking people to write or draw their memories, stories, or family sayings on two inch wide paper rolls, which will then be hung around the main tent for the rest of the festival. Adds McLeod; “Think of a normal old guest book on steroids. Think of our theme ‘Coming Home’ and what it means to you. Think St. Marys, the Thames River, the limestone heritage, the people, the places, the buildings, and write or draw your memories or connections with each. Think, mainly, of your personal connection to place and what it evokes in you”. McLeod would also like to see this project housed in various locations after the festival.
At the same time, multidisciplinary artists Coleen MacPherson and Rachel Ellison will be leading a Pocketology Field Research Unit Excavation at the entrance to the Main Festival Tent. Pocketology is the study of people’s pockets, and is a collective act of creation in which participants are invited to create without an initial conscious intent. Pockets are private spaces holding items that inherently possess stories about an individual’s past, thoughts, and actions in everyday life. The small stories held in our pockets are like glue that links the larger stories in our lives.
Call it the Once Upon a Thames Storied Walking Tour for Saturday, June 5th! Other events are planned for the morning, including storytelling and music at the Farmers Market, an Author visit at the St. Marys Public Library with children’s author and storyteller Jan Andrews, and the two workshops on Speaking Story and Personal Narrative, Culture and Myth. The fun starts on Friday night at 7:30pm with a concert of stories and music for all ages, continues with storytelling in two tents on Saturday afternoon, and culminates in Saturday night’s concert at 8pm. For more information on these events and invited performers, visit www.stmarysstorytelling.org, call Carol at 519-229-6468.
2010 Storyteller Interview Series
May 28th - Jan Andrews
Why Storytelling and why now? Why do we need storytellers?
Storytellers are an essential part of human life. We offer a simple, direct form of communication and contact not found with such immediacy in any other art form. We can’t change the world, but we may give our listeners means to perhaps see their own worlds more clearly; we can affirm that in the hardest of times others have walked similar roads. We can also simply entertain. We can bring laughter – one of the world’s greatest delights.
How did you get started in storytelling, and who were your influences? I was organizing a program for Expo 86 in Vancouver. I saw some great, great tellers – Alice Kane and Joan Bodger particularly. I loved the depth and quiet. I knew it was something I wanted to do.
For those who have been here before, what you like about St. Marys and Perth County. For those who haven’t been here before, what have you heard about this area? I came once to be part of an evening concert. I was impressed by the concern to take good care of us. There was a lot of snow so we didn’t get to see much. I’m hoping to do better on that front this time around!
Who were the storytellers in your family?Storytelling was not a big thing in my family; creating the opportunity for stories to be told was much more where it was at. I had an aunt who dressed up in a blackout curtain, crossed London and showed up on my grandparents’ doorstep pretending to be a nun. My mother was given to making those wonderful Edwardian type hats which she put on at sundry interesting times. Such activities were much approved of. For us, they were the stuff of life.
Because we’re focusing on themes related to ‘coming home’ at this year’s festival, have you ever experienced “A Sort of Homecoming”, and the bittersweet emotions that ensue. Do you think that we can always come home again? I guess this raises the question of what is home. I’m an immigrant so for me home is very much something that is chosen, made. I now live down the end of the road on a lake. It’s beautiful and every time I come back to it I’m grateful. I can’t imagine any homecoming that might make me feel more joy.
How do you see storytelling evolving over the next while, or do you? If we don’t evolve, we’re finished. Art forms have to push at the boundaries, change, grow. What I hope is that we’re going to take on more in the way of building infrastructure – especially in ways that mean storytellers aren’t going to keep on doing all the organizing that has to be done. I’m also working hard to make sure we find new performance opportunities. I think at the moment we just don’t have enough chances to get out there. These chances are another thing that are essential to growth. Then, there’s the whole issue of occasions for artistic development. I want to see far more of those.
What kinds of stories do you like to tell? Do you have an absolute favourite story or song, and why? This is a hard one because I’ve been touched deeply at one time or another by stories of every shape and kind. I certainly have a leaning towards traditional material – the folk tales and epics. I’m often called back to The Stolen Bairn and the Sidh. I love it for the strength and simplicity of its central character – her utter dedication to the quest.
Any advice to aspiring tellers? Don’t be fooled by people telling you we’re all storytellers! Of course, we all have stories to tell but telling is an art form. Learning to craft and shape and tell compellingly is what makes it all worthwhile.
Jan Andrews is an accomplished storyteller and author of books for young people. Her work has been short-listed for a number of major Canadian awards. Readers may know Very Last First Time, The Auction, Out of the Everywhere and (most recently) Stories At the Door. For more information on Jan visit www.janandrews.ca
May 17th - Mike Ford
Why do we need stories and storytellers? Now more than ever – with corporate media extending an ever-growing reach on ‘air-time’ and younger generations being sold an idea that it’s all about The Gadget, not the content, we need to hear each others’ stories, experiences, perspectives, and beautiful, beautiful voices.
How did you get started, and who are/were your influences? A high school that fostered expression, a family that encouraged creativity, and the luck of having the time and facility to hone my art. Musical performers and song writers that made a cabaret out of their creations – those are the ones that really caught my ears: Cab Calloway, Loudon Wainwright, Tom Waits, Robert Charlebois, Jacques Brel, David Bowie, and my Dad in his Barbershop Chorus and Quartets – this all gave me the notion that a song could be a show – could be taken in all sorts of directions. I learned to sing all the above and much more, and then, gradually, started telling my own stories in song.
You came to St. Marys in 2007 as part of our "Canada in Story and Song" festival. What do you like about St. Marys and Perth County? The way the whole area geographically congregates down by the Thames – the silent river winding its way through the towns and cities – it makes it a perfect place to gather for the festival. Also, I grew up reading the great Milt Dunnell in the sports section – even the festival park’s name is an inspiration.
Who are the storytellers in your family? My parents had 9 children. I could sit and listen to any one of my siblings tell stories for hours and hours and only want more. My sister Anne has made the strongest archival impression – she has, to all of our great fortune, captured tales from relatives and preserved them in words and pictures to be kept, handed down, retold.
Because we’re focusing on themes related to ‘coming home’ at this year’s festival, have you ever experienced “A Sort of Homecoming”, and the bittersweet emotions that ensue. Do you think that we can always come home again? I will stick to the theme of Family that these questions invoke for me. Every return home to my wife after a road trip, every larger family gathering, fills me with such a sense of warmth, of sunshine, and, yes, as we grow older, of sunsets. So there it is….to dispel the bitter from the sweet, the sense that these gatherings may not be forever, we must tell and share stories. To stretch out that sunset, into the next sunrise.
How do you see storytelling evolving over the next while, or do you? I am very involved in school scenarios. I am quite excited by what I see more and more of – students expressing themselves using a variety of media and approaches all at once – taking the tools that are around them, and describing their world to others. Every High School Shakespeare student should be allowed to create Hip Hop Rap out of the soliloquies, if they so desire, should be allowed to create punk anthems for geography projects – if they so desire.
What kinds of stories do you like to tell? Do you have an absolute favourite story or song, and why? Something that gives me a sense of another time and place, while at the same time striking emotional chords that are entirely part of the present moment. My present favourite is by David Francey, off our joint “SEAWAY” album – a song called “The Parting”, which he wrote about his families leaving a Scotland when he was a boy – the goodbyes from ship to shore, the feeling of the harbour – it is a breathtaking piece.
Any advice to aspiring tellers and musicians? Describe every hill, tree, neon sign, bicycle bell, sewer grate, cloud and laughing face you see out your window. Tell us exactly where you are. Tell us every curve and bump and glide of your journey. As the Australian Aboriginal custom has it, “Sing up the road” that it may roll out before you.
Mike Ford is a Juno-nominated artist whose concerts and recordings are garnering critical and popular acclaim coast-to-coast. Known to many as 1/4 of the eccentrically successful folk-pop-vaudeville band Moxy Früvous (with whom Mike has entertained countless festivals, theatres, clubs across North America and Europe and recorded 7 acclaimed albums), Mike is immersed in a whole new career phase with his rollicking Canada In Song project. In June of ’08, he released his most accomplished album to date, the sonically vibrant and thematically charged Canada Needs You, volume two. Mike lives in east Toronto with his wife Therese and step-daughter Jacqueline. He has worked in or visited every region of this incredible country and is dedicated to sharing his enthusiasm for Canada’s land and history with people of all ages. For further info, visit www.mikeford.ca
May 12th-Leslie Robbins-Conway & Paul Conway
Paul: I would first suggest that anyone curious about Voyageur Storytelling should look at our web site www.voyageurstorytelling.ca. The icons on the portal page open to the main branches of our enterprise, not all of which are active at the same time. Taken together, however, they summarize what we do, have done, or want to do. For the ideology of the enterprise, the page is www.voyageurstorytelling.ca/Experience.htm which can be reached either directly or by hitting on the image of the voyageur silver dollar.
Why Storytelling? I think that if you ask any artist why he or she chose a particular artistic medium, you would get an answer consisting of some mixture of nature, talent and appropriateness. In other words, an artist chooses a medium that comes naturally, for which he or she has enough talent for satisfactory engagement, and that can carry the desired expressive and communicative load. Stories are dynamic images of characters and events flowing through time, and thus come naturally to most of humanity. Telling them is an act of communication and entertainment. Leslie and I tell stories because people enjoy listening to us, and to make a living.
Why Now? The general answer, I suppose, is that we tell stories now because that is the only time when they can be told. You can't tell stories in the past, and you can't tell them in the future. You can only tell them now. You can tell them from the past, or (through recording) for the future, but only in the present. And regardless of the present in which they were told, they can only be heard now. Hearing is the first step in the listener's act of creation.
But only the first. Art is like food, which is why we put them together. You eat the food, you taste it consciously, but the nourishment comes later, unconsciously. So too with art. Food for which taste is an end in itself, without capacity for lasting nourishment, is junk food. So too with art. A Voyageur Storytelling meal — sumptuous, well-prepared, diverse, nutritious and filling — is a metaphor for the concert that follows.
Or perhaps this question means why at this point in history, or why humanity particularly needs stories now. There is nothing about this moment in history either increasing or decreasing the need, relative to other moments. The need for art never changes, although the perception of need may. If you’ve never had it, you may not think you need it. If you are surrounded by it, you want more. Art is addictive
Who are your influences? That is more complicated, because we should say something about what we both have been, working individually, and what we are now, working primarily as a partnership. For Leslie, I think the short answer would be that her influences were those she shared with others of her age in the Toronto storytelling community combined with the many diverse forms of Jewish storytelling. Mine were literary (recitation), musical and operatic. Our past influences are thus traditions, communities and forms rather than particular individuals. Now we are heavily influenced by each other and our summer audiences.
Who were the storytellers in your family? Everyone in the immediate family to some extent, my maternal grandmother, father and elder brother in particular
How did you get started? By being born, I guess. Perhaps more specifically by becoming parents of children with ears. By groping our way forward step by step into professional performance, sometimes with, sometimes beside, sometimes even perhaps a bit ahead of our supporting communities (Toronto, Edmonton, Yellowknife). It was all very gradual until our move to the Bruce Peninsula, when we made a big leap to be followed by more rounds of the gradual process. The specific idea that became the Country Supper Storytelling Concert, which now dominates our performing-scape, was inspired by our house and surroundings, and is sustained by our audiences.
How do you see storytelling evolving over the next while, or do you? That will depend on whether the preservationist (oral tradition) storytellers continue to define the Canadian art form, or the performing art storytellers. The latter are more inclusive (and quite comfortable with oral tradition storytelling as long as the standards are high), and more focussed on audience development. Also whether notions of professionalism mature. At the moment the art form in general is in a rut, where low standards of performance are tolerated in the name of the oral tradition, or even encouraged. This leads nowhere, and that’s where it will go. If storytelling is to have a future, it must adopt performing-art standards.
What kinds of stories do you like to tell? Do you have an absolute favourite story or song, and why? Leslie: I have always liked to tell folk-tales and literary tales about fools, and with a humorous twist. I am really enjoying telling the stories that Paul writes for me. Paul: I like to tell stories with a very strong aural pulse and eloquent, colourful language. In oral telling plot and character are of minimal importance to the impression, style is everything: the shape, ring and wit of phrases; the lilt of language; the pace; the flow; the unexpected turn; the surprise.
Any advice to aspiring tellers? Train as a singer, and sing your stories, actually or stylistically. Train as an actor, but don’t act. Train as a reciter, but don’t recite. Be highly polished in the right way. Develop absolute control of your voice and technique. A technique to abolish technique (Ruth Sawyer) is still a technique, and requires dedication to the learning. Follow the oral tradition if you like, but do that as a performing artist. Cultivate the widest repertoire until you find what works best for you. Be imaginative. Be perfect. Insist on suitable venues and performing conditions. Love your audience. Bear’s prescription: study, practice, discipline, dedication, risk, and eventual alteration of self. Joseph Conrad’s prescription: “complete, unswerving devotion to the perfect blending of form and substance, an unremitting, never-discouraged care for the shape and ring of sentences”.
Answers prepared by Paul, in consultation with Leslie
May 4th-Brad Woods
Why Storytelling, Why Now? Why do we need storytellers?
Why not? I think storytelling is the root of all arts, whether the oral traditions, painting, sculpting, singing, dancing, journalism,TV, film, the web, it all boils down to a story well told. It is the root of all communication isn't it?, it is the way we connect as humans. People seem to talk about the storytelling "Revival" but I don't imagine there has ever been a time without good storytellers. If there was, how would we know anything?! Storytelling is funny that way, you ask why we need storytellers and I suppose we could go on and on talking about it but the simplest answer (and I think this says enough) we need storytellers to tell us stories!
How did you get started in this field, and who are your influences?
My wife saw an article about the Yukon Festival in Canadian Living magazine and we were both fascinated. I was at York U at the time and decided to write an article about it Everyone I spoke with told me I should talk to Dan Yashinsky (what an honour to be performing with Dan this weekend!). Dan agreed to meet me at a downtown Toronto cafe (used to be Dooneys) and agreed to an interview if I would volunteer at the Toronto Festival. After that festival I was hooked, I wanted to be a teller and a listener and a collector of stories. That was almost 13 years ago! So Dan and my wife (Sylvia) were my original influences. The storyteller I'm big on right now is Kevin Kling out of Minnesota. I absolutely love his work. I am very drawn to performers that earn the audiences attention. There is a comedian working in Toronto right now named Peter Stevens that can absolutely control a room, he is a big influence. I love artists that collaborate and mix music, comedy, stories, I am a big fan of the Rat Pack, that is why I perform with the Great Wooden Trio. Also David Francey, that guy does it all, he is the complete package.
For those who have been here before, what you like about St. Marys and Perth County. For those who haven’t been here before, what have you heard about this area?
I have only been to St. Mary's once, and it was just passing through so I know nothing about it. But it is small town Ontario, what's not to like! I already love it. When we moved out of Toronto (8 years ago) my biggest concerns were, I wanted to live in town where there was a cafe, a pub and a bookstore I could walk to. We certainly found that in Guelph and I have used that as my basis of a good town ever since. I can't wait to figure what that is in St Marys in June!
Who were the storytellers in your family?
My grandfather, Art Ilson, was a master Storyteller. Only we didn't know that term then. My mom was a great reader of classics to us. She still is a great reader, we often compare notes on favourite books. My father is a real city kid, his is a life well lived and he has wonderful stories of being a first generation Canadian to Scottish parents in the big smoke. My brothers, my wife, my own kids, we're all good storyteller aren't we? if someone is willing to sit and listen, someone else will have good tale to tell!
Because we’re focusing on stories related to ‘coming home’ at this year’s festival, have you ever experienced "A Sort of Homecoming", and the bittersweet emotions that ensue. Do you think that we can always come home again? How does it relate to the Bigger Story?
The idea that you can never come home again is a funny one for me. I love going home to my parents place. I love going home with my wife to her parents place.The best part of my day is coming home from work. I have no problem with coming home. As for how it relates to "story", in my life coming home is when I get to sit around the table with my kids and swap stories about school, fights, loose teeth, victories, skinned knees, half truths, laughs. My house is like a storytelling festival from 4 - 8 pm.
How do you see storytelling evolving over the next while, or do you?
I hope more folks start to see how storytelling is in and around all art forms, I love storytelling festivals that include a wide variety of mediums, and folk and music festivals that embrace storytelling. You guys do a great job of that.
What kinds of stories do you like to tell? Do you have an absolute favourite story or song, and why?
I try to tell a wide variety of stories, folk tales, legends, literary stories, personal stories. The bigger my repertoire, the more doors are open to me. However my biggest success is with personal stories. When I say success I don't mean financially. I mean the ones I feel best about telling and the ones I get the best responses from. There is something so honest about telling your own story, it makes you vulnerable and accessible. If you can do that as well as come across as an artist or performer I think you are doing something pretty special. It takes the "celebrity" and distance away between performer and audience. I love that connection.
Any advice to aspiring tellers?
Let me know where you're performing, I love hearing new voices.
Brad Woods is a storyteller because he can't think of why not to be one! He is a former board member of the Storytellers School of Toronto, the recipient of the 2002 Anne Smythe Travel Grant for Storytelling and the 2004 Storyteller in Residence at the Guelph Civic Museum. In 2005 Brad was featured at the Yukon International Storytelling Festival and in 2006 was the first Canadian featured at the Los Angeles Storytelling Festival. In 2007 he released his first full length CD of original material and in 2008 took his tales coast to coast, from Vancouver to New York City. In 2009 Brad kicked off the legendary Mariposa Folk Festival with a story on the main stage and later that year released his follow up CD with launch dates all over southern Ontario. In July of 2010 Brad will be doing his first Storytelling Tour of the UK!
St Marys Storytelling presents the final installment of the 2010 Winter Performance Series with Tea and Stories with Joan Bailey
On April 11th, St. Marys again comes alive through the excitement of story and song. St Marys Storytelling Inc. presents Tales of a Lancashire Childhood with storyteller Joan Bailey of Mississauga. You can laugh at the tales of her mischievous youth; sing along with lively British Music-Hall pieces, and travel far away and long ago through the magic of traditional world folktales.
Joan grew up in a small working class mill town in Lancashire in the north of England. She carries on the rich oral tradition of her native land with a lively mix of songs and stories from her childhood. Joan loved listening to her mother tell wonderful family stories. She trained as an elementary school teacher in England but then emigrated to Canada in 1973. In 1989 she lived for a while in the USA where she became a professional storyteller. In the twenty years since then she has performed and given workshops in Australia, Canada, England, South Africa and USA. Combining her stories with songs and audience participation, she enthrals children and adults alike.
“Storytelling is something everyone can do, and that’s what I’m interested in sharing with my audience” says Bailey. “It’s a sharing thing, not just a performance. It shows people how easy it is to do, and encourages people to tell and share their own stories with their families.”
“These days we have experts in everything; there is no room for the novice. We don’t play our own music in our homes anymore; instead we listen to music on CD, for example. People today are missing that vital connection, and story is something that I can encourage people to do. The best way to sell them on storytelling is to have them experience it for themselves.”
Tales of a Lancashire Childhood is the fourth and final chapter of St. Marys Storytelling’s 2010 Winter Performance Series, an annual storytelling series that runs January to April. The performance begins at 2:00 p.m. on Sunday, April 11th at the St. Marys United Church Hall, 85 Church Street South, St Marys. Tickets are $15 (recommended for ages 10+), and includes themed refreshments. They can be purchased at Van Galen Photo in St Marys, by calling Carol McLeod at 519-229-6468, or can be reserved via email at events@stmarysstorytelling.org.
However the stories don’t end there: information about the upcoming 7th Annual Once Upon a Thames Storytelling Festival on the first weekend in June can be found at www.stmarysstorytelling.org. We are bringing back some of the most popular performers of previous festivals, and introducing some exciting new talent. This year’s line up is superb, and should not be missed.
St. Marys Storytelling wins a $1,050 Sponsorship as part of Business for the Arts 60 Second Pitch challenge during ArtsVest in Stratford on March 9th and 10th.
Carol McLeod, Artistic Director of St. Marys Storytelling Inc, (second from left) is presented a cheque for $1,050 by sponsors, from left, Bob Telfer of Conceptual Pathways, Charlene Gordon of Edmonds-Gordon Inc, and Rick Orr of Orr Insurance. (photo contributed by BftA)
Article in Stratford Beacon Herald about ArtsVest Launch in Stratford/Perth County
St Marys Storytelling presents an afternoon with acclaimed Storyteller, Musician, and ‘Contemporary Canwegian Skald’ Sarah Granskou on March 14th.
What happens when you mix a Canadian’s sense of innovation with the musical traditions and culture of Norway? You get storyteller and musician Sarah Granskou, a ‘Contemporary Canwegian Skald” (Nordic for bard) from Waterloo. Granskou will perform her set “Embers Remember the Spark” at the St. Marys United Church Hall on Sunday, March 14th as part of the 2010 Winter Performance Series produced by St. Marys Storytelling Inc.
Through narrative and song, accompanied by the fiddle, flute and jawharp, Granskou bridges the modern and ancient, the here and there. While she draws on ancient art forms, her moving and humourous works belong in a contemporary niche all her own. Sarah has sampled various cultures and dialects; accompanying the Sámi reindeer migration, working on Norwegian farms, playing for weddings at a Swedish church of ice, building 8-string fiddles and living amongst Canada’s Inuit. Through combining languages, Sarah creates a comprehensible multicultural dialect.
Granskou’s first profound musical experience in Norway was amongst the Sami reindeer herders of the North, where she played their wordless singing upon her fiddle. Then, with her great-grandfather’s fiddle in her backpack, she traveled extensively on ski, hut-to-hut in southern Norway. Upon exposure to the music of her ancestry, she responded through what she calls a “genetic memory”. Working on farms in Norway, she learned traditional singing and to play the 8-string Hardanger fiddle, becoming involved with the people on a personal level. Sarah has since studied Norwegian and Swedish folk music independently and with the support of the Canada Council for the Arts and the Ontario Arts Council.
“To be Canadian is a tradition of creating, of integrating, of relating – to me that is just as important as the music of my ancestors” says Granskou.
Sarah has presented her solo storytelling musical extensively throughout North America. Her evolving performances have reached hundreds of community and school audiences in 11 states and provinces. Sarah has performed original and traditional works at dozens of festivals including the Yukon International Storytelling Festival, the Edmonton Storytelling Festival, the Toronto Storytelling Festival, the Latitudes Storytelling Festival, Mill Race Folk Festival, Hillside Festival, the Jamestown Scandinavian Festival, Høstfest, Spotlight on the Arts, Harbourfront Swedish Festival and the Trondheim Literature Festival. Sarah’s works have been released on the album Midnight Sun, and aired repeatedly on the CBC and on national radio and television channels in Norway. In 2009, Sarah conducted dozens of school presentations sponsored by the Region of Waterloo Arts Fund.
Embers Remember the Spark is the third chapter of St. Marys Storytelling’s 2010 Winter Performance Series, an annual storytelling series geared to adults that runs January to April. More information about this show as well as the final chapter in April, and the upcoming June Festival can be found at www.stmarysstorytelling.org.
The performance begins at 2:00 pm on Sunday, March 14th at the St. Marys United Church Hall, 85 Church Street South, St Marys. Tickets are $15 (recommended for ages 15+, includes themed refreshments) and can be purchased at Van Galen Photo in St Marys, by calling Carol McLeod at 519-229-6468, or can be reserved via email at events@stmarysstorytelling.org.
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PREVIOUS NEWS
The St Marys Storytelling Festival Once Upon a Thames
Presents
THE FROG FESTIVAL
June 5 & 6, 2009
Make way for FROGS! The St. Marys Storytelling Festival, “Once Upon a Thames” is coming the first weekend in June. The festival has changed dates this year, moving from September, to June 5 & 6, but it’s still located in the same place, picturesque Milt Dunnell Field (the Flats) on the Thames River in St Marys.
The theme this year is Frogs. Frog stories appear in almost every culture in the world; there will be frog stories, frog songs, frog masks, frog games, frog folktales and hopefully some real frogs too! Visitors will also have an opportunity to hear two VERY different versions of the classic tale, The Frog Prince.
Friday from 7 to 8:30pm is the Family Concert in the big tent featuring froggy storytelling, and music by Erick Traplin.
First thing Saturday morning, two Tellers will be at the downtown Farmer’s Market; and from 2:00 to 4:30 at the Flats visitors can hear ongoing storytelling in the large tent, tell their own tales at a story swap, sign up for a session in the environmental tent to learn more about real frogs, make hop-a-long origami frogs and participate in frog crafts and games.
Saturday evening, from 8 to 10pm, the Frog Concert, featuring lots more froggy storytelling, and music by the Michael Earnie Taylor Orchestra, will be held in the big tent on the Flats.
Admission to the evening events and the “Frog Festival” on Saturday afternoon is by donation.
Please visit the website www.stmarysstorytelling.org or call Nancy Vermond at
519-284-2698 for more information
Plan to visit the St Marys Horticultural Society’s huge plant sale, Saturday morning at the Flats
Notice of Annual General Meeting
for St. Marys Storytelling Inc.
Monday, January 26th 2009 at 7pm
St. Marys Public Library
Meeting Room
RSVP to events@stmarysstorytelling.org
Here We Go! Storytelling Festival Begins
This Friday, September 5th
From left: Carol McLeod, Nancy Vermond, Tony VanderSchot, John Stevens, Monique VanderSchot. Absent from photo are Arlene Callender, Janis Fread, Christina Kerekes and Gail Fricker. (photo courtesy of Andrea Macko, Journal Argus)
As I write this, the tents are being set up on the Flats, the Logistics crew are hard at work making sure that everything is in order for the weekend, and storytellers have begun the journey to St. Marys for this weekend's festival.
Tomorrow morning, you may hear the sounds of St. Marys' bagpiper Mark Fletcher as he leads schoolchildren down to the Flats, for the beginning of our 5th Anniversary celebration. Approximately 800 school children from St. Marys and Stratford will be entertained by two very talented storytellers - Antonio Rocha and Adwoa Badoe.
I hope you will join us tomorrow night for the official Festival Opening at 7pm! See you this weekend!
Carol McLeod,
Festival Coordinator
Damen's Restaurant Contributes $1,000 to Storytelling Festival
July 2008: Festival Coordinator Carol McLeod and President of St. Marys Storytelling Inc. Monique VanderSchot (right) accept a cheque for $1,000 from Damen's Restaurant owner Burt Damen. (photo courtesy of Jeff Heuchert, St. Marys Journal Argus)
The Ontario Arts Council announces grant for the St. Marys Storytelling Festival
July 7, 2008
ST MARYS - The Ontario Arts Council recently announced a grant award in the amount of $5,000 as part of its Literary Festivals and Organizations program to St. Marys Storytelling Inc. for its annual storytelling festival.
St. Marys Storytelling Inc. is a non-profit organization devoted to the revival of storytelling both within our community and beyond. While there are workshops and a Winter Performance Series happening throughout the year, the main activity is the three day “Once Upon a Thames” Storytelling Festival for all ages held the weekend after Labour Day at Milt Dunnell Field on the Flats, a large park beside the Thames River near downtown St. Marys.
The Ontario Arts Council is an agency of the Government of Ontario. It was established in 1963 to foster the creation and production of art for the benefit of all Ontarians. Since 2007, the OAC has funded artists and organizations in 252 communities in Ontario for a total of $40 million.
“We are thrilled that the Ontario Arts Council has again chosen “Once Upon a Thames” to receive a Literary Festivals and Organizations project grant. The grant goes directly towards the expenses involved in holding this three day festival,” says Festival Coordinator Carol McLeod.
“We are also excited about celebrating our fifth anniversary with our “Many Voices – One World” theme with some tellers who have been with us since the beginning, and some that are coming to St. Marys for the first time. It's also very rewarding for all involved with the planning of this festival to see St. Marys put on the literary arts scene 'map' in Ontario.”
The art of storytelling has seen a revival in recent years, with festivals happening in major cities and towns all over the world. This September, the Stonetown will play host to tellers from countries like Brazil, Ghana, Japan, Argentina, Sicily, and Greece, who now call Canada home. All events at the Flats are again by donation. For more information on this year's festival, please visit www.stmarysstorytelling.org.
St Marys Storytelling Inc. receives Celebrate Ontario Grant
L-R : Front row: Board members Christina Kerekes and Arlene Callender. Back row Carol McLeod, Festival Coordinator; John Wilkinson MPP; Nancy Vermond, Storyteller (and former Artistic Director); Monique VanderSchot, President, St. Marys Storytelling Inc. and Jamie Hahn, Mayor of St. Marys with area children enjoying a storytelling event at the St. Marys Tourism office.
March 14th, 2008
The St. Marys Storytelling Festival. is receiving $11,912 from the McGuinty government to help enhance programming, attract more visitors and boost the local economy.
Celebrate Ontario provides St. Marys, and communities across Ontario, a chance to shine by supporting the growth of local events that draw more visitors and help our businesses prosper.
St. Marys Story Telling Festival is one of 90 festivals and events across the province that will receive funding through Celebrate Ontario 2008, launched in 2006 to support the growth of festivals and events.
