Local Haunts and Creepy Costumes

It is almost here the creepiest day of the year.  After the costumed kiddies retreat to bed with  bellies full of candy. After the teens on the prowl have settled to tell of all the bravado they showed that night. Late when only the brave dare visit the streets then do the spirits of past Halloween's cruise the streets of town and the hallways of some of our scare inducing landmarks! Welcome to Halloween 2011, where will you hide?

                                        The Ghostly Tavern and Fiddlers, Coventry (CT) Historical Society
                                                   Haunted Tours Open again Friday Oct 29

                                                                                 
If you make it out of the woods stop by the fireside for Storytelling with Carolyn Stearns Storyteller. www.carolynstearnsstoryteller.com  I grew up in Coventry and live nearby, I know what haunts the forest there, do you?

                                            Not Scared Yet? Want More Fun?
Halloween Night the Willimantic Brewing Company is  host  to VoiceMail a special edition of the monthly storytelling open mic. This month, on Halloween night at 7 p.m. Spooky Stories all open mic!  www.willibrew.com  Come early for dinner stay for the stories. 967 Main St. Willimantic, CT. Your host for the evening Carolyn Stearns Storyteller.

                                                            Carolyn Stearns Storyteller

 Don't think you are safe when the calendar changes to November for there are places that will always be thought of as haunted. Here are a few  if you dare look farther down the page!

                  Does the spirit of Nathan Hale still wander the family homestead in search of his hunting buddy and best friend Asa? Will the patriot who was hung by the British as a spy find peace in the forest that is his namesake?    Come to Coventry Connecticut to find out more.  Parking for the Historical Society Haunted Lantern Tours is here.

                                                                                                                                   
       Eastern Connecticut's Rail Trail through several remote areas and forests ( no rails and ties there it is a hiking trail) is home to a haunting by the Ghost Train. Listen for its whistle!

                                                                            
  Yes indeed this state forest is inhabited by a ghost of Mary E. Ask me about her visits when you come to  VoiceMail at WilliBrew on Halloween!

                                                                 
                          This is the second time I have captured a photo of her orb in the forest there!

Lastly a event coming up this winter inspired a day of video at the Old Tolland Jail Museum on Tolland (CT) Green. What fun creating these videos to promote out winter Campus Slammer.

                                                                            and another view

                                                                               
                               Wishing you all a Happy Halloween filled with fun and great stories!
for a previous blog on VoiceMail see: www.carolynstearnsstoryteller.blogspot.com/2011/07/willimantic-brewing-company-and.html

Secret 6 of Boston Supply Guns to Raid

Guns in cases labeled Bibles or Books
 
    That was how guns were shipped from Boston to Kansas in support of the abolitionist movement before the Civil War began.  Six men of the greater Boston area bankrolled the movement to make Kansas a free state ( slave free)  and to provide leader John Brown with the money and supplies needed to bring about his plan to create an uprising and free the slaves.

Saturday I attended a program  in Framingham Ma. about  Julia Ward Howe and the Men of the Secret 6. Julia is most well known for writing the words to the Battle Hymn of the Republic. A first person account of these men and their connection to Julia was performed by storyteller Libby Franck a Framingham resident. There was an impressive amount of history personalized and  brought out in this performance. The execution of her demeanor,costume, language, the dates and correspondences of the time were consistently in the time period and style.
                           
          Fundraiser is not a new thing. The Secret 6 raised much of their funds through spirited talks and  political connections in the Boston area. This group was well spoken, well travelled , successful in business and life pursuits, and inspired to bring about the change so needed.

                                                      

Storyteller Libby Franck as Julia Ward Howe   www.libbyfranck.com

                                                     

WHO WERE THE SECRET 6? Here are their pictures I took these at the performance ( sorry a couple a tad out of focus but I had no others)

                     Dr. Samuel Gridley Howe husband to Julia Ward Howe

Franklin Sanborn and Theodore Parker

                          Thomas "Wentworth" Higganson

                                    (below) Gerrit Smith

                  George Luther Stearns - I wanted to learn more about this Stearns!

Performance sponsored By:

                                                     

                                                                         
Libby Franck      www.libbyfranck.com   for more information on programs of  The Secret 6 and Julia Ward Howe and  other topics.

www.framinghamhistory.org   Come out to their buildings, events and touch the local history they have preserved for you!

Spanish Riding School Vienna Philharmonic Beliebte Annen Polka Johann St...

When I saw this You-Tube clip I was swept back to the days when my children watched the Disney telling of the story of these magnificent horses struggles through World War II.  In the Disney movie The miracle of the White Stallions  the portrayal of General Patton sweeping in to save the  mares  from almost certain  disaster was a inspiration to  an entire generation of horse lovers.

The movie has come out on DVD and is available at all the usual outlets. I encourage all who love a good story to  buy or borrow this classic Disney and introduce a young generation to  a wonderful story. These incredible athletes are so compelling to watch over and over!  Enjoy! The Miracle of the White Stallions from the Spanish Riding School in Vienna.  Certainly  a storytelling adventure in a grand scale!                                                                           

Social Media in Plain English in an Ice Cream Story

Learn about Social Media this video in plain English it is a delicious  description!

TONY WILSON "A crown of snow" National Childminders Workshop Story EYFS

Sharing a story by Tony Wilson today. The King coated in snow to go with the New England landscape today. 2 more snow days from school have accumulated on the calendar. 2 more inches have accumulated on the ground and fence posts, trees and mailboxes. January has passed and the Ground Hog made his annual appearance. The sun rose and set behind a gray curtain of snow and woodsmoke.  We wait, can spring and its warm sun and drip drip dripping of Maple sap be far in  the distance?  

Sleighing to Sharing the Fire

The  weather seems to think we need to break the record for all time low temps in the Northeast! That just means we need to have more people SHARING THE FIRE!  March 18-20, 2011 at the Crowne Plaza Warwick, Rhode Island storytellers from around the Northeast will gather and share in warm stories, warm hearts, healing, learning and  friendships. 

    You may have to hire the sleigh above to get there this year with old man winter dumping storm after storm on us.   Then you would surely have a story to share on the adventure of  coming to
Sharing the Fire Northeast Storytelling Conference.
 If you need to contact the sleigh please do contact my friends Terry and Elaine Joseph at their farm  http://www.cedarknoll.net/  860377-8110.  They do warm weather events too like my daughters wedding a few years ago! Now that was a fairy tale like day!

 Come in out of the cold and take a workshop with us!  How about catching
"The Hero's Journey as Healing Story"
with storyteller Lani Peterson.  Quoting the brochure on the conference: "From C.G. Jung to Joseph Campbell to Disney, the mythic structure of the hero's journey has been explored and utilized from every angle, but its power as a framework for clients, patients, parishioners,and storytellers to explore their own healing stories holds infinite possibilities. Bring your own life experiences and understand it by working with it from the inside out."  For more info on Lani check her website at: http://www.lanipeterson.com/

Friday night the Sharing the Fire Concert 7-9 p.m. is open to the public tickets are just$10.00 and it is open to the public grab a friend and come. You can hear tellers,Lee Ellen Marvin, Doug Lipman & Elisa Pearmain along with  3 winners from Story Slams. ( that could include a wild tale of police and animals and kids and how not to get to a community service event, told by yours truly!)

  Find out more about the conference at http://www.lanes.org/

These tellers are honing skills to wow! you with at the Friday night performance see what they are all about at:
  Lee-Ellen Marvin      http://www.http//26variations.com
      Doug Lipman           http://www.storydynamics.com/
      Elisa Pearmain          http://www.wisdomtales.com/

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

Metro - T riders take stage to tell their MBTA tales

In Boston this past slam was all about who rides the T ! It happens daily as thousands and thousands board and recede like the tide to the other world. So unremarkable that oblivion might better be the name. Then every now and again a ride becomes so noteworthy it becomes a story. Read the metro below how the stories were shared at the most recent Mass Mouth Story Slam. http://www.massmouth.ning.com/


Metro - T riders take stage to tell their MBTA tales

Christmas Spirits

Getting ready for the Holidays? Plan an evening of pure entertainment with Carolyn Stearns Storyteller performing my original epic piece "Christmas Spirits".

Marlborough Tavern http://www.themarlboroughtavern.com/ will host a telling on Saturday December 18, 2010 at 8 p.m. Tickets are $10.00 for the performance but call and get your dinner reservations in and come enjoy the best of New England Tavern dining before the performance. Tickets for the show are available from the tavern call 860-295-8229 , or from Carolyn at 860-690-4292.

Christmas Spirits is a historical fiction holiday tale that begins in Newport RI and travels to New York City where the main character travels in time to meet many notables from New York History. This is a classic story that will give you the spirit of Christmas and put a little tradition and simplicity back in your holiday.

I am working my way through a blitz of storytelling shows and it is so much fun to move from venue to venue. I have been reaching so many people in the last couple weeks with stories and have met some awesome people.

I have to remember that even when I am doing multiple shows in a week that for the audience it needs to be a special occasion. I need to bring my best program and be at the top of my game for each performance.

If this next show is the first time people hear a storyteller, is my story ready and one they will remember. I am working hard to bring together shows that have a good arc to the performance and a great tie in to the theme or the location.

A all Ct History show at Wallingford Historical Society was a lot of fun they are some of my favorite stories. Then I did 2 nights of haunted and historical at the Coventry Historical Society Enchantingly Haunted Hikes, The Tipi Telling Birthday party was about as unique a venue as you could want! What a fun collection of traditional Native American stories I was able to share, along with my personal Cows Out story when we had some bovine gate crashers. The next was a benefit performance for Heifer Project held at Willimantic Congregational Church. Tomorrow I'm at a nursing home and Thursday you will find me on top of Wolf Rock to tell Wolf Stories to 3 rd graders.

Where ever I am, I need to bring my best effort, and my camera don't want to miss these wonderful storytelling events and locations.