Annual Fall Picnic

We had a lovely evening for our gathering in Bryan Park - cool and pleasant.

Besides food and conversation we heard some stories about the Guild's past and a wonderful tale about a dinosaur cat. "Actually," the teller warned "it might be too scary."

It was just right!

Ingathering

Gather together everyone!
It is time for our annual Ingathering Picnic and Story Swap!



Start the Storytelling Season on September 9th, 5:30, at Bryan Park.



Email the guild to RSVP and find out which shelter house - or check our Facebook Page!

The Story Speaks to Each One

Sometimes when you tell stories to a whole classroom (or a whole cafeteria) full of children, you focus on a face here or there and you wonder what the experience is like for that child.
Here it is: These pictures are from weekly storytelling sessions with a whole classroom of children.

Isn't it interesting that each child saw only two people?
There is only the individual listener and the storyteller....

and linking them, the story.

Listeners Wanted!

The time has come! Golden leaves announce that the season for ghost stories is here - It will, of course, be dark and cold at the annual Festival of Ghost Stories. Come prepared for the weather - and listen to the radio or check with the library to see if we have moved indoors. If it is clear, we'll be at Cascades Park, if it rains we'll be in the Monroe County Public Library.
It is this Friday, October 23, stories to begin around 7:30 p.m.

Festival of Ghost Stories Coming Up!

We are partnering with City Parks and Recreation and for the second year in a row we will be a part of their “Festival of the Falls” in the Lower Cascades Park. The date for our annual Festival of Ghost Stories is Friday, October 23, 7:30-9:00pm.

Anyone who attended or told last year will be pleased to know that the City Parks and Rec. has arranged to have that road closed so that loud cars will not disturb the mood we strive to create.

If you are intersted in telling at the Festival, plan to audition your story on Weds., Oct. 14 4:00-6:00pm in the Children’s Program in at the Main library of the Monroe County Public Library. You are welcome to drop in during those two hours.

It would be ideal if you would email Stephanie Holman at sholman@mcpl.info with your intent to tell, the length of your story, and a brief summary/synopsis of the tale and also let me know what time you can make it to auditions. There are several on our email list that have not told for a long while and we want to invite you to tell again. We miss you and you know who you are! We would love to have some of our old friends back on stage with us as well as some new friends we have just discovered.

Twice -told, storytelling with a translator

"Art Across the Americas" brought a group of young artists from Guatemala together with kids from Bloomington to work on a mural along the B-Line Trail. When the painting was done, they celebrated with a picnic - and storytelling. Sitting on the lawn beside a small pond, the stories were told with a background of water splashing and birds chirping.
It was interesting working with a translator - figuring out when to pause and how to keep a story flowing with such frequent breaks. The audience reaction was interesting too - first the English speaking half would respond, then after the translation, the Spanish speaking half would join in. The translator had not heard the story before, so there were times when she had to grope for an unfamiliar word. The audience was forgiving and enjoyed the novelty of the experience, as did we.

Farm day

The old farm is a great place for storytelling, and we're delighted to be part of the traditional "Farm Day" when it opens to hundreds of children.


The old farmhouse, the barns, the fields beyond - all set the scene perfectly.

Early in the morning the storyteller takes a deep breath and mentally runs through stories about chicks and ducklings and piggies.

Here come the buses!

Here are the kids, pouring off the buses!

Now it's time for story after story after story, as each group takes a break to sit on the hay bales and connect the characters in the tales to the live creatures they've just seen and touched.