Hurricane Igor Storytelling Benefit Concert in the works for Friday, Oct 8th

The St. John's Storytelling Festival is pleased to announce that noted international storyteller La'Ron Williams will be coming to St. John's to tell in local schools and be our headline performer at a storytelling benefit concert to assist with Hurricane Igor rebuilding efforts!

The storytelling concert will take place at Gower Street United Church, in the lower auditorium, at 8pm on Friday, October 8th. Stay tuned for more details.

La'Ron Williams is a nationally acclaimed, award-winning storyteller who has toured extensively presenting programs and workshops. His music-spiced, highly participatory performances present a dynamic blend of original and traditional tales crafted to help improve literacy, encourage community, foster cooperation, promote peaceful conflict resolution, build self-esteem, and deepen the historical understanding of the American ideal of democratic inclusion.

For more information, join the St. John's Storytelling facebook page at:
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=2339137807&ref=ts

Listen to La’Ron Williams on supporting peace and social justice through storytelling:
http://www.artofstorytellingshow.com/2008/04/07/laron-williams-supporting-peace-and-social-justice/

Chris Brookes & Margaret Hitchens to perform in Petty Harbour CultureDays

This Sunday, September 26, well-known local storytellers Chris Brookes and Margaret Hitchens will be sharing tall tales and old-fashioned recitations at the historic Chafe's Landing in Petty Harbour.

Chris Brookes is an award-winning independent radio producer whose documentary features are heard in the U.S.A, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, England, Sweden, Finland, Canada and The Netherlands. He has also produced documentaries for network television, and is a published author and playwright. He seems to be obsessed with narrative, which makes him keep telling stories in hopes of one day getting them right.

A crowd favourite at the St. John’s Storytelling Circle, and star of the annual Recitation Night, Margaret Hitchens delights audiences with her renditions of classic English monologues and recitations, including the ongoing adventures of Albert Ramsbottom and Samuel Small. Margaret has been involved for many years with the Kittiwake Dance Theatre, and is the company’s annual choice to play the role of the Grandmother in their Christmas production of The Nutcracker.

Chafe's Landing is the oldest home in Petty Harbour and was built in the 19th century. It is located just over the bridge in the heart of Petty Harbour.

Sunday, September 26th, 2010
2:00pm
FREE EVENT
http://www.chafeslanding.com

Storytelling and Historical Interpretation Workshop in New Bedford, MA

On Saturday, September 18, 2010, I will be giving a Storytelling and Historical Interpretation Workshop in New Bedford, Massachusetts!

Full details on the workshop, including cost and location information, is on the lovely Karen Chace's blog at:

http://karenchace.blogspot.com/2010/08/history-heritage-and-community.html


Spread the word!

TIME: 11:00 P.M. - 3:00 P.M.
LOCATION: ArtWorks 384 Acushnet Avenue, New Bedford, MA
DIRECTIONS: http://www.artworksforyou.org/hours.html

Dale Jarvis and Norma Cameron on the CBC Podcast

WAM July 24-25 18th Annual Storytellers of Canada Conference

Spinning a yarn, making a nuisance of yourself, and Mom Liked You Best... these are some of the topics covered this coming week at the 18th Annual storytellers of Canada Conference. The national storytelling meeting is here in Newfoundland for the first time ever. Haunted Hike founder, author and Intangible Culture Officer Dale Jarvis is one of the organizers, and Norma Cameron is a Scottish Canadian storyteller visiting for the conference.

Download and listen to the podcast at:
http://podcast.cbc.ca/mp3/nlwamgaloot_20100725_35873.mp3

Newfoundland's Storytelling Events for July, 2010

There are a lot of storytelling events coming up this month, with visitors from South Carolina, Italy, the UK and Denmark, plus some performances by local favourites. We've got stories for adults, stories for families, stories by kids, stories by candlelight, and stories with tea!

You can check out the full listing of this month's events at:

http://www.storytellingstjohns.ca/events.html

Wheelchair accessible events are noted!

Dale Jarvis book launch to kick off international storytelling conference

St. John's will soon be host to an international conference of storytellers, with lovers of stories coming from across North America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia. Local storyteller and author Dale Jarvis will start things off on Monday, July 26th with a pre-conference book launch.

From an encounter with a shrieking horror on Signal Hill, St. John’s, to the legend of the headless pirate of Red Bay, Labrador,  Jarvis has captured stories of white horses, men in black, haunted punts, vanishing boats, and things that go bump in the basement.

Blending local history, folklore, eyewitness interviews, and archival research, Haunted Waters is the latest collection of ghostly tales from one of Canada’s finest, and creepiest, storytellers.

The book launch will take place on Monday, July 16th at the Martini Bar (upstairs) on George Street at 8:00pm. The author will read from his book, and will be signing copies for sale.

Watch the book trailer at:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ltS_QZM2xOo

Book Trailer: Haunted Waters by Dale Jarvis

From an encounter with a shrieking horror on Signal Hill, St. John's, to the legend of the headless pirate of Red Bay, Labrador, folklorist Dale Jarvis conjures up stories of white horses, men in black, haunted punts, vanishing boats, and things that go bump in the basement.

With its tales of premonitions of death, eerie phantoms, and strange creatures, Newfoundland and Labrador is truly a haunted place. Beware, gentle reader! The unquiet spirits of dogs, wolves, little girls, ships, and soldiers drift through these pages. You may even run into the Old Hag herself, Newfoundland and Labrador's most infamous nighttime visitor. Blending local history, folklore, eyewitness interviews, and archival research, Haunted Waters is the latest collection of ghostly tales from one of Canada's finest, and creepiest, storytellers.

Haunted Waters: More True Ghost Stories of Newfoundland and Labrador
by Dale Gilbert Jarvis
Format: Paperback, 170 pages, b&w photos
Pub Date: July 2010
Price: $16.95
ISBN-10: 1-897317-79-4
ISBN-13: 978-1-897317-79-2

Link to YouTube book trailer:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ltS_QZM2xOo

Canadian Youth Storytelling Scholarship – Call for applications

The St. John’s Storytelling Festival and Storytellers of Canada-Conteurs du Canada (SC-CC) is pleased to announce the launch of the Canadian Youth Storytelling Scholarship. Each year, SC-CC holds its annual conference in a different location across Canada. The Canadian Youth Storytelling Scholarship will send a young storytelling enthusiast from the conference’s home province or territory to that year’s conference.

In 2010, the conference is being held in St. John’s from July 28th to August 1st, and the first recipient of the Canadian Youth Storytelling Scholarship will be from Newfoundland and Labrador. One scholarship winner from Newfoundland and Labrador will be invited to the conference to meet and interact with storytellers from across the nation and around the world, take part in exciting workshops, and be invited to concert performances by some of Canada’s and the United Kingdom’s finest storytellers. The winner receives:

• Free admission to the SC-CC conference, July 28-August 1, 2010
• Entrance to all concerts and workshops
• A one-year membership to Storytellers of Canada-Conteurs du Canada
• A $250 grant to help offset the cost of travel and accommodation
• Partnership with an established storyteller, who will act as a mentor, guide and resource.

WHO MAY APPLY:
Youth aged 18-30 interested in using storytelling in their respective fields (i.e., education, psychology, museum work, environmental education, healing arts, law, religion, business, theatre, or freelance storytelling!)

HOW TO APPLY:
Please provide the following information via email:
• Name, Address, City, Province
• Telephone Numbers (home and cell)
• Email Address
• Date of Birth
• Storytelling experience (either telling or listening)
• Answer the following three questions:

1. Why are you interested in attending the Storytellers of Canada-Conteurs du Canada Annual Conference?

2. What do you hope to gain from the conference?

3. How can storytelling be used in your present or desired line of work?

Completed applications for the Canadian Youth Storytelling Scholarship must be submitted, by email, to youthstorytelling@gmail.com by Wednesday, June 30th, 2010.

Information about the annual conference may be found at www.sc-cc.com

Wicked Wednesday with Dale Jarvis, Storyteller

Celebrating 13 years of telling terrible tales!

Wednesday, May 26, 2010
8:00pm
Newman Wine Vaults, 436 Water Street.

$13 at the door

Join storyteller Dale Jarvis as he launches the 13th season of the award winning St. John’s Haunted Hike with a special evening of his favourite ghoulish and ghastly tales by candlelight in the haunted Newman Wine Vaults.

Since 1997, the Haunted Hike has thrilled locals and tourists alike with stories of public hangings, duels, and horrific murders, forgotten cemeteries and unmarked graves, vengeful lovers, murdered soldiers, and mysterious fires. He also tells stories of the faerie folk, tales from the collections of the Brothers Grimm, local legends and traditional tales from Newfoundland, Ireland, the United Kingdom and beyond. He is the founder of the St. John's Storytelling Circle, and president of the St. John's Storytelling Festival, Inc.

Last chance to register for storytelling conference

The response to the July 2010 Storytellers of Canada conference in St. John's has been fantastic! We have only twenty slots left before we're completely sold out, so we have decided on extending the registration deadline! If you haven't registered yet, it isn't too late, and we will take the first 20 people who send in their registration forms and payment.

http://www.sc-cc.com/conference/2010/2010-registration.html

If you have already registered and haven't make your room bookings, you can get the information on accommodations at:

http://www.sc-cc.com/conference/2010/2010-accommodation.html

Don't forget the 5-Minute Story Slam, happening Wednesday July 28th, at 7:30pm. We want the slam's theme to fit the local environment, and for St. John's, that means fog, and lots of it! The foggiest place in the world is the Grand Banks off the island of Newfoundland, the meeting place of the cold Labrador Current from the north and the much warmer Gulf Stream from the south. With storytellers from all over the world congregating in St. John's this July, all that hot air is bound to see an increase in the misty stuff. We welcome stories related in any way to fog: foggy days, the mists of time, fog horns, fog banks, lost in the fog, living in a fog, condensation nuclei, various visibility hazards or drizzle, fo' shizzle! Have your foggy tale ready.