SUMMARY OF FIRST GATHERING OF STORYTELLING GROUPS IN ONTARIO

JUNE, 2012

GRAFTON, ONTARIO

Submitted by June Brown

                Ontario is a vast province with about 18 storytelling groups. The distance between groups, our winter weather, the time and date of storytelling meetings, (usually a week day or night) the cost of travel and motels, make visits between tellers almost impossible. The consequence of so many obstacles is that most storytellers have few opportunities, other than the internet, to share experiences and stories with tellers outside their geographic area. To address this problem of 'not knowing each other,' Brenda Byers and June Brown, as co-reps for 'Storytellers of Canada/Conteurs du Canada', decided to sponsor a gathering of Ontario tellers. The underlying goal was to make connections. Tellers who were emerging would have an opportunity to meet established tellers, formal guilds would meet with informal groups, eastern tellers would meet western tellers and northern tellers would meet southern tellers and SC-CC members would meet non-members. At the end of this gathering we hoped people would have stronger connections.

The campfire glowed red in the twilight as the lusty chants from the paddling voyageurs drifting over the tree tops. We were paddling down the most dangerous lake in Canada, Lake Winnipeg, under the direction of Zabe MacEachren a Kingston storyteller. This campfire and storytelling session was just one of the many enjoyable happenings that took place during the 'New Voices and Old Wisdom' gathering on June 8, 9 and 10th, 2012, near Grafton Ontario. It was an historic event for Ontario tellers. Never before had so many of them gathered for the sole purpose of connecting with each other.

                Planning is everything and we tried to cover every detail from food to travel. After many hours of work we had a varied program with lots of opportunities over three days to interact with other tellers, have fun and learn something new. On the morning of the opening day we arrived at the site with great enthusiasm. We had great weather, good attendance, a well-planned program and volunteer support from Anna and Connie. As we entered the house, Brenda and I breathed a sigh of relief. The hard part was over. All we had to do was run the program. This state of smugness lasted until we turned on the water. When a silky brown mud poured from the tap we knew we were in trouble. What was missed in our preparations was a contingency plan for a total pumping failure. Some fast thinking, bottled water, a port-a-potty and signs posted around the site saved the day. As people arrive we told them to pretend they were camping, and they did.

                Our first event was a wine and cheese, followed by a tell-around under the stars. We heard stories old and new and we discovered that the real Hermione in the Harry Potter stories was probably a storyteller from Peterborough!

                On Saturday there were meet-and-greet sessions, two excellent workshops led by Heather Whaley and Norm Perrin, a discussion about storytelling in Ontario led by Bruce Carmody, and opportunities for fellowship and fun with a mystery lunch, a pot luck supper, tell-arounds and a 'Trivial Pursuit' with a storytelling theme that took everyone through the woods. The trail wound its way beside and over a babbling stream, past century old trees, cedar groves and drifts of royal ferns. Storytelling questions dangled from the trees and bushes testing the group's memory and storytelling knowledge, e.g. ‘Can you name 3 stories that feature footwear?’. Long cedar benches were placed in two strategic spots and as the hikers sat they listened as storytelling giant, Bob Sherman and wood fairy, Deborah Dunleavy told them a tale. The hike was one of the highlights of the weekend.

                As the weekend unfolded, Brenda and I knew our goal of connecting tellers had been achieved. All around us we could see clusters of tellers who had never met before deep in conversation. We could hear laughter and people making plans to meet again. When the gathering ended forty tellers went home with new storytelling ties, a stronger connection to the art of storytelling and our province.

                In September, an Ontario 'travel and billeting program' will be launched to build on the connections made at the Gathering. This is good news for storytellers and Ontario communities. They will now be able to hear new storytelling voices and stories.

This article was posted with the permission of J. Brown and B. Myers