Season for Campus Slammer

Spring Semester and time for Campus Slammer! The inter-collegiate story slam series pitting one Connecticut College against the others in a battle of wit and word.

Each college holds a preliminary slam on a theme and send their top two on to the Connecticut Storytelling Festival to  participate in the finals!   www.connstorycenter.org

It is not to late to sign up  the Finals are April 28 at the festival, so each college will need to have their event prior to that date. email mothermoo2001@yahoo.com  to set a date.

check the CT. Storytelling Center website for all the details on Campus Slammer

www.connstorycenter.org

Dates set  include:

WCSU March 29

ECSU April 3

CCSU April 9

Conn Coll, April 13

several other colleges are working out details

Top Two  on each campus will receive t-shirts with the Campus Slammer logo on them

Finalists will be competing for prizes like a sail out of New London harbor, an Android Pad, and a video camera.

                             

Boom Box Parade

            What does a town do when they can't get a band to march in their parade?

        Resort to good old fashioned Yankee Ingenuity! Kathy Clark did that 26 years ago in coming up with an outrageously simple solution. Everyone carry a boom box radio and the get the main St. radio station WILI  www.wili.com to play parade march music. That is the way it has been ever since.  It is a very eclectic bring whatever, all are welcome parade ever since and it draws thousands of viewers to a Main St decked out in 4th of July finery and a willing host to  the essential American experience.

            Ten deep at the sidewalks that fall back on open space the families of the region and beyond set up their space early in the morning to await the announcement it is about to begin. The parade has attracted National press coverage and unique local coverage as well. 2011 saw 4 newspapers print stories and pictures and three televison crews were on hand to film. It was a perfect July 4 with warm but comfortable sunny skies and a slight breeze, the crowds came out in droves. They were awaiting the annual appearance of regulars like the Fishheads and the Haggerosa Fire Co a family with an antique fire apparatus and more. They line up to cheer for little league players and Karate schools, kids on bikes and social programs. There a plenty of classic and antique autos including Mountain Dairy, our family farm. www.mountaindairy.com

.

This year a new entry was the Connecticut Storytelling Center.  www.connstorycenter.org  I have been planning increased visibility for storytelling in my hometown and vicinity.  In adding a parade entry I knew 10,000 people would see the name and get a quick intro. I have been on the local radio a couple times, this is good follow up. This past winter both neighboring colleges, Uconn and Eastern CT. State University participated in Campus Slammer story slams. We are growing our own following person by person.

                                                                           
The video introduces my next  local piece. "VoiceMail" a open mic for storytelling held once a month will be hosted by this well known Main Street pub The Willimantic Brewing Company. You will see the camera pan the location in the old Post Office building.  With several awards for their specialty brews and delicious food  we are sure to have a good crowd for dinner and  stories in the Postmasters office will follow.  www.willibrew.com  Soon I'll be announcing the dates and getting all the social media publicity going and the local papers and of course radio. In the mean time we sure had fun with the Willimantic, CT. Boom Box Parade.  P.S. the parade puppy is a Wheaten Terrier named Lily, everyone loves a parade!

                                                                             

Jim Flanagan CT History Photo Story.m4v

Ct. is full of a rich history just waiting for storytellers to embrace it and share it. Every town has a great historic house, a mill or pond with a tale associated, a Native American legend or site and museums of every kind. Our state stories are a unique collection and fit school curriculum needs. Some of the most interesting stories are not even from heroes and wars, struggle and bravery, the best stories are from families who lived in our towns. The world spun it's way through time and all the while mothers rocked babies, fathers went out to till the fields, children walked to school and the shopkeepers watched the generations grow before their eyes. Capture a legend and story today and share it. The wealth of Ct. is her hi"story"! This photo collection will give you some ideas. Come to the Ct .Storytelling Festival in April and take a workshop on historical stories with Megan Hicks, www.connstorycenter.org/festival www.meganhicks.com Listen to Native American Teller Tim Tingle, www.timtingle.com or check out the Ct. Historical Society or another Ct. Museum. www.chs.org

A Gem - Michael Parent cassette

This spring when the trees were fully blooming and the wind came warm off the sea for the first time in months, I was in New London Ct. My annual trek to the Ct. Storytelling Festival http://www.connstorycenter.org/festival.htm I was there to gather in the warmth of story, the exuberance of new and renewed friendship , and the inspiration of hearing the magic that is live storytelling. It was everything I was hoping for and then some. I set aside a small budget for books and items from the sales room and this is where I came across my treasure.

Can you imagine having a treasure chest and not opening it for months? Can you imagine the mystery not calling you, the curiosity not beckoning you to pry free the lid. Never again will I be able to ignore the beckoning call of a story not listened too, for the gem I had left to collect dust on the bookshelf was incredible and its late discovery I hope will encourage me to unlock mysteries as soon as I can.

It happened like this. At the festival there is a sales room. All the performers have their books and CD's etc in there as well as a wonderful selection from the Conn College bookstore. Browsing between shows is a chance to savor titles and make out a wish list and for me one or two titles each year make their way home. I carefully pondered the selection this year and made two choices and approached the checkout table. There I noticed a basket with cassette tapes. Remember those outdated items lost in the technology cyclone that has hit us in the last ten years? I pawed through the tapes and came up with three at such a nominal price it seemed to me like stealing! Oh I know they are outdated and do no good in a closet but still I know the work that goes into these projects and was so happy to put my treasures in my take home bag!

I came home from the Festival overflowing with excitement, ideas, conversations buzzing in my head, so much to think about. I unpacked and looked at the cassettes and placed them on the shelf with other audio and video. I don't presently own a cassette player. Ah well one will turn up. Well this was the weekend, I borrowed my Mom's car to make a trip into Boston, (my car is a story in itself). When I got in I spotted a cassette player, yes they had this car awhile but it is in excellent condition. So I packed up for the day trip to Boston and climbed in toting one extra bag full of cassettes a bit dusty but the anticipation of the 4-6 hours of riding in such good company was high.

I slid in the cassette and was swept away. Somehow the miles between Boston and Ct. slipped by amid the rousing French songs and the envisioned Sundays at Grandma's ( Dimanches Chez Memere) This was my gem, this story of growing up in that wonderful bilingual family of story and song. Here in cassette form, adorned with the shiny gold seal of the Parents Choice Award I was reminded this was recorded a long while back but the story was timeless. Indeed on the cassette is the date 1988, like fine wine a story grows better with age and telling and so this one has come to its maturity and sweeps us back to our childhood memories. Michael Parent opens the door to this tale and you can smell Grandma's cooking and hear Uncle Arthur's truck coming down the road.

All is not lost for the treasure seekers as the cassette has been updated and is available in CD format on his website http://www.michaelparentstorytelling.com/ or email him at michaelparent@maine.RR.com For me, I will happily keep the gem I found at the festival a reminder to stop and listen and even when technology is pushing us forward remembering to look back, we may have left a gem or two behind.

Balance in a Giving Circle

We all are carrying somebody, and when we stumble there is someone there to pick up and carry us. It is a circle, an arc, a reach, a beam. Whatever your vision share it.

I suppose some people never seek balance, never think about the give and take, they haven't grasped the power. I can't remember a time when I was not a giver. Teaching the younger kids of the neighborhood how to ride bikes was giving. Months later as we raced down a huge hill I crashed in a sandy wipe out tumbling to the tar banging up everything from head to toe and scraping open a knee deep and bloody. Then all the kids came back, they pulled me physically out of the road onto the grass verge, just then a car roared over the hill and right over the spot I had been laying. It came back so soon the give and the take cycle always with me. I learned a couple things that day. Don't tell Mom you were racing on Trowbridge Road, and your friends will take care of you if you take care of them. I never road a bike on Trowbridge Road again!

Think about your community, who are the do-ers? You can name a couple of people who are bound to be there whether its a sport event, PTA bake sale, zoning meeting, or firehouse fundraiser. They all have found the power of giving and the wonderful people you meet. They have seen the circle of giving, how it all comes back in some other form to enrich our lives. It is a power we need to introduce youth to, for they are equipped to continue the good work we begin, they have so many technological advances and so much energy making giving a natural part of their lifestyle will create world peace a lot faster than current political machines can create it.

My daughters invited me to watch a movie with them, it sounded nice as I don't get to spend a lot of "down time" with them but I seldom watch TV or movies anymore I have so much I want to get done. " Mom, you're gonna love it , it's your kind of movie". We settled in and The Blindside with Sandra Bullock was indeed my kind of movie! www.imdb.com/title/tt0878804/ This is a true story of giving and one that will carry the message of Give to such a large audience it is no wonder that the accolades still resonate because the ripples that film makes will create waves later!

Today's paper carried the standard weekend magazine section USA Weekend, see http://www.usaweekend.com/ issue for July 16-18, 2010 the cover story 21 Small Ways You Can Make Difference This Summer; by the couple who inspired The Blindside. Two pages of national coverage on giving! The right hand column a list of suggestions to get the cogs loosened up and the ideas flowing. The last item is "Oct 23 participate in Make A Difference Day"! We can do that!

Storytellers everywhere should tell a story that day to someone. Doesn't matter , the who , what , where, just share a story and make a difference. We all have discovered the power of story so let's just let go of work , job, and me for a moment on Oct 23 and share a story. Catch the kids on your street playing, the elderly neighbor alone all day, the waitress on a lonely shift with no customers, the Mom with children whirling beside her. Give a few minutes and let it go.

Did you stop and jot the date, do it now pull out the phone or calendar where ever you keep your schedule. Oct 23 share a story with anybody.................don't forget to push save. Got it? Great! Make a Difference Day will be awesome if we all just share what a gift we have in story.

Still feeling the high from giving? Don't feel you have to stop at one story. You can give the gift of story again and again. You can also give to preserve the gift of story. The Ct. Storytelling Center http://www.connstorycenter.org/ is always in need of gifts. It is the heartbeat of Ct. Storytelling. At their website you can give a financial gift, or you can donate your most precious gift, TIME! Volunteer to work a Tellabration, become a volunteer at the Festival in April, send books for the new library, help us reach for the goal of a free standing home for the Conn. Story Center.

If the gift of giving is liberating you, continue to develop your philanthropic side. LANES, the League for the Advancement of New England Storytelling is our larger circle of storytellers and they have a needs list as well explore giving to Lanes and the Sharing the Fire Conference at their site http://www.lanes.org/ It takes a whole group to pull together the wonderful festivals and conferences where we hone our craft to perfection.

One more step NSN, that's a National Storytelling Network http://www.storynet.org/ if you are giving to them ( or is it us) just think how far and wide it can reach.

Don't feel you have to wait until Oct 23 , that is a reminder Nationally but giving can be perishable and contagious. So give it while its fresh and watch it catch on!

P.S. Curious about today's picture: sculpture on the quadrangle of Columbia University New York City I just loved my visit there!