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Shelburne Free Press https://shelburnefreepress.ca/?p=7261 Export date: Mon Nov 25 23:21:15 2024 / +0000 GMT |
Dufferin Storytellers celebrate 20 years The Dufferin Circle of Storytellers filled the sanctuary of lovely Corbetton Church, at Dufferin County Museum, with stories and story lovers on April 25th. The Circle celebrated 20 years of yarns and tales, old and new, comical and touching. The Circle was founded in 1994 by retired teacher Nancy Woods starting with 3 “tellers of tales.” Now, there are 17 members, ranging from 11 to 81 years of age, who try to meet once a month to tell each other stories, accept invitations to story-tell, and perform at seniors' residences and schools. Now living in the hills of Mulmur, Nancy Woods' attraction to tales was inspired by students, in the last 15 years of teaching in Toronto, “who were fascinated by the new technologies for saving data, but seemed disinterested in holding anything in their own memories. They also didn't know how to listen.” She came upon an article by a well-known Canadian storyteller, Dan Yashinsky, who wrote, “Listeners are an endangered species. Let us rediscover the value of the spoken word, the value of memory, the value of gathering together to hear.” Nancy applied for a grant and began a highly successful program in her school, launching a life long love of storytelling. In this tradition, the Dufferin Arts Council recently received a gift of $500 from the Circle of Storytellers, giving Centre Dufferin District High School students in Grade 9 and 10 an opportunity to work with a professional storyteller to experience and learn the art of storytelling. The evening in Corbetton Church was a diverse collection of stories, some original and some adapted, by nine different tellers of tales. Accomplished harpist Lianne Gorelle created an authentic atmosphere with the gentle strums of her instrument. Zoee Maxwell began the evening appropriately with “A Creation Story” based on the Ojibway legend of how the Earth was made. Carol Cholvat followed with “Sweet Sixteen,” her original story of young love. The audience laughed along with the spoken image of a father misconstruing his daughter's date to the hockey game as a lonely young man he would, as a kindly gesture, accompany to the game himself. As a retired librarian from Toronto Public Libraries, who now works at three local libraries, Jennifer Johnson has an obvious passion for the written word. She told a fantastical “coming of age” story, “The Green Cloak,” filled with dark forests, mischievous Fairy folk, and a carefree, flute playing boy, who, as the Irish would say, “had a bit of the glamour about him.” Wearing a green cloak, and holding the story staff, Johnson spun a tale of a midsummer's eve when the boy was rescued from the fairy world by his sister, caught tightly in her green cloak, but “the carefree boy who played the flute was gone, replaced by a man who did a man's duties.” Dick Byford, a member of the Dufferin Arts Council, made a surprise story offering with fond memories of Jack Downing, a cherished member of the community who had loved storytelling. Dick retold the hilarious account of Jack's country dog Omar who accompanied him to a meeting in the city to discover “more wild animals than in the country,” including a fox stole, worn by a lovely lady in the glass elevator at the Eaton Centre. At only 11 years of age, Chandra is the youngest member of the Circle. She wrote her own folk tale in the style of first nations, The Chipmunk and The Canoe, about a journey through the four seasons. Complete with a chipmunk and a canoe, Chandra was an inspiration to other youth, and an encouraging sign that the ancient art of story telling would continue for years to come. The second half of the evening included two Owl tales, one an adaptation of “The Owl and the Bens,” by W.O Mitchell, and Michael Agueci's “Owl Eruption” about his encounter with snowy owls on the back roads of cold and windy Melancthon. Grade 9 student Kyra Seymour, another inspirational young teller, adapted a tale by Max Lucado, “Because I Love You.” The story spoke of the wise Shaddai who builds a stone wall around the village to protect the children, but allows a curious village boy, Paladin, to make his own decisions and learn a lesson of love when he passes through a hole in the wall to the other side. Marian Gallaugher ended the evening with an original story about her relationship with Mr. Jeff, a unique influence in her life, who had come to Canada as a home child, a system of migration that often placed poor or orphaned children in brutal and pitiful conditions. Nancy Woods said the Circle of Story Tellers was happy with the evening, but frustrated by sound equipment problems and feels they must turn their attention to finding a better system. If you are interested in assisting the group or joining as a listener or storyteller you can contact Nancy Woods at 705 466-2111. By Marni Walsh  Photo by Marni Walsh |
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Post date: 2014-05-01 08:38:16 Post date GMT: 2014-05-01 12:38:16 Post modified date: 2014-05-07 11:07:53 Post modified date GMT: 2014-05-07 15:07:53 |
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