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May 2010 Edition
WELCOME
With only three weeks now till our 7th Annual Once Upon a Thames Storytelling Festival, I wanted to give you a heads up about all the interesting things that will be happening in St. Marys on June 4th and 5th.
SCHOOLS AT THE FESTIVAL DAY JUNE 4TH
We have two tents of stories and music ready for students from Kingergarten to Grade 8 on Friday, June 4th. Spaces are filling up, so if you would like to bring up your class, or even better, your entire school, give me a call at 519-229-6468 or email events@stmarysstorytelling.org and I will send you a detailed letter of times, performers biographies, and a list of other activities to enjoy while you’re in St. Marys. I have a goal of getting Storytelling in front of 1,000 schoolchildren this year – let me know if you can help me achieve this!
The storytellers/musicians that will be entertaining the children are Leslie Robbins-Conway and Paul Conway of Voyageur Storytelling, who will entertain the K-3 students, and musician Mike Ford (a festival favourite from 2007) who will keep the grades 4-8 in line with his upbeat songs and stories of Canada. Both of their bios can be found at http://stmarysstorytelling.org/invited_storytellers.html
WORKSHOPS
We have added another workshop to the lineup! Jim May will give a workshop on “Personal Narrative, Culture, and Myth” on Saturday June 5th from 9:30-11:30 in the basement of St. James Anglican Church hall, 65 Church St. South St. Marys. I took Jim’s workshop in 2004 when he was here last, and consider it my ‘launching pad’ into the broader world of storytelling. Another great thing about his workshop is that it fits in with the Festival theme of “Coming Home”. The workshop will encourage participants to examine their own individual and family experiences as a source for stories. As these memories are recounted, stories emerge that tend to instil a profound sense of integration, understanding, and pride in family and culture, despite past histories that may range from imperfect to tragic.
Dan Yashinsky from Toronto will lead a workshop on “Speaking Story” on the main floor of St. James Anglican Church Hall at the same time. Dan’s workshop will rediscover the way stories provide a framework for understanding difficult relationships, connecting to hereditary wisdom, and imagining possible futures. Participants will enrich their storytelling repertoire, learn to feel comfortable telling stories out loud, and enjoy the experience of listening thoughtfully to each other's stories. A special focus of the workshop will be on stories that enhance the leadership skills of participants.
The beauty of these workshops is they are suitable for a wide range of people; from teachers, museum staff, librarians, and social workers, to people interested in uncovering and sharing their own or their families’ personal stories. Registration fees for the workshops are $35, and please contact Carol McLeod at 519-229-6468, or Nancy Vermond at 519-284-2698, or email events@stmarysstorytelling.org to register. Payment is due the morning of the workshop, and registration is limited to 10 participants so please sign up as soon as possible! A full description of both workshops can be found on our website www.stmarysstorytelling.org
SATURDAY MORNING
With so much happening on Saturday morning, June 5th, I thought I’d give you a teaser here so you can hopefully have a chance to visit all these locations! Call it the Once Upon a Thames Storied Walking Tour for Saturday, June 5th!
First, you will start off bright and early at the Festival site on Milt Dunnell Field at the Flats, the Horticultural Society will be hosting their annual Plant Sale in the morning. This is always a well attended event with plenty of interesting vendors and a great one stop shop for all your gardening needs. During this sale, be sure to stop by and visit Storyteller Brad Woods and his family at his Story Booth called “Paper Trails Storytelling”. This is basically a Community Art Project that will be ongoing during the festival on Saturday. Brad is debuting an idea that he and I have developed that involves many paper rolls, sharpies, and our collective imagination. Think 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. I can’t wait to see how this project evolves thoughout the day! As the rolls unwind with our collective stories, Brad will be hanging them up on display under his canopy, and then later in the day they will be transferred to the back of the main tent so that people can continue to share and appreciate the Paper Trails of Stories that develop. Please do stop by and say hi to the Woods family! I am also hoping that this display can be housed in various locations in St. Marys after the Festival. Let me know if you’d like to showcase it!
At the same time, Coleen MacPherson and Rachel Ellison will be leading a Pocketology Field Research Unit Excavation at the entrance to the Main Tent. What is Pocketology you ask? I have put up a detailed description of what they do on the website http://stmarysstorytelling.org/Pocketology.html In a nutshell, 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. Rachel and Coleen will be there from 9:00-11:00, and in the afternoon from 2-4pm, so be sure to stop by and visit them!
When you leave the Flats, make your way to the St. Marys Farmers Market by heading south along the River Walkway (it’s the longer, yet more scenic route!) When you get behind the beautiful Opera House (you can’t miss it) walk a little further until you come to an open space on your left – there you will see Canadian Tire across the street, and a lot of people who will be at the Market. Lots of local area farmers and vendors from across Perth County will be there, so support Local Food! Two storytellers Leslie Robbins-Conway and Paul Conway, will be entertaining the Market guests. Paul is a former Opera singer so I’m sure you’ll hear him before you see him!
At 11am, St. Marys Public Library on Church St. right behind the Town Hall, will be hosting an Author Reading with author/storyteller Jan Andrews from Ottawa. This too is a free event, so stop in and listen to Jan. This is a great event to bring young children too. Jan will also have copies of her books available for purchase there, as well as at the back of the Main Tent during the afternoon and evening. This will end at noon, and give you an hour to get lunch in one of our downtown restaurant and cafes before the afternoon program begins at the Festival!
CONCERTS
We will kick things off on Friday night at 7:30pm, with host Jim May, Jan Andrews, musician Mike Ford, Leslie Robbins-Conway, and Brad Woods. Watch out for some fresh local talent that night too! This concert is suitable for all ages, and Anna from the Darjeeling Tea Room will have coffee, tea, hot chocolate and some light refreshments for sale at the back of the tent.
On Saturday afternoon, starting at 1pm SHARP, we have 4 hours of storytelling in TWO tents at the Flats! La’Ron Williams will start things off in the Main Family Tent, and Jennifer Cayley will tell in the Adult tent. In between sets a very talented local Grade 6 student at South Perth Centennial will entertain with his juggling skills! Other tellers that will be performing in the afternoon include Jim May, Leslie Robbins Conway and Paul Conway, Mike Ford, Dan Yashinsky, evalyn parry, and Jan Andrews. The Pocketology team will also be set up to do excavations between sets, so be sure to stop by and visit their ‘exhibit’.
Saturday evening will start at 8pm, and is recommended for adults and youth age 10+. This concert will be hosted by Dan Yashinsky, and features Jennifer Cayley, Jim May, La’Ron Williams, Paul Conway, and the music and spoken word talent of evalyn parry. Harvest Café will provide tea and coffee for sale at the back of the tent.
On behalf of the board of directors and myself, I would like to extend a warm welcome to all our story-loving friends to visit us in St. Marys on June 4th and 5th!
See you then,
Carol McLeod
Artistic Director
St. Marys Storytelling Inc. |
