Friday night campfire stories at Billings

The Billings Estate Museum staff were ecstatic at the success of this set of events. Four Friday nights of telling, with a campfire and the roasting of marshmallows, saw ever increasing numbers of listeners. On one Friday, after running out of marshmallows, a staff member hopped into her car and rushed off to a grocery store for more to feed the ravening horde! Each Friday saw more chairs being pulled out of storage as couples, and families flowed into the field.

The format of the evening has developed over the two years of this series. In this set, the audience gathered around the fire. After an introductory story and song, those interested in "younger style" stories were invited to move under a nearby tree. Those interested in more complex "older style" stories could sit where they were. Thus two stories were being told to two audiences, at the same time. Afterwards, the children returned to the firepit, and demonstrated one of the stories they had learned.

It looks as if the Ottawa Storytellers will be asked to return next summer for another month of Fridays. Congratulations to Gail Anglin and Patrick Holloway for making it all work.

A weekend with the Norse gods: From Creation to Ragnarok

Tellers and listeners came from far and wide to the home of Jan Andrews and Jennifer Cayley for what has become a much cherished event, a weekend of epic. The media often request and require three minute stories, or even wee snippets. It is rare when we can immerse ourselves so completely in one story that we are transported to that time and place, gaining an understanding of the characters, the morality (or lack of it), and the humour that reveals itself best in the light of that understanding..

Jennifer Schellink and Colin Henein were two who added their ears to the storytelling, and their voices to the late night singing. Colin also managed to get up in the middle of the night to take a few photographs. Besides looking at the photos of the sky just below you can listen as Colin and Jen chatted with me about their time at Taylor Lake.
Click here to listen to the interview.

Norse Gods at the Shenkman Centre

Jennifer Cayley, Ellis-Lynn Duschene, and Ruth Stewart-Verger followed up their Taylor Lake weekend of telling with a reprise for another audience in a room built for performance. Though there was no lapping of waves on the shoreline, no rustle of leaves, no smell of wood smoke, there was a filled room with interested listeners.

I asked Ellis-Lynn a few questions. Click here to listen