by Kim McCloskey | May 1, 2017 | About Storytelling
To honor the Timpanogos Storytelling Festival’s move to their new home at the Ashton Gardens at Thanksgiving Point, this year’s festival’s theme is Stories Grow Everywhere. The new theme caught my fancy and I decided between now and the festival in September, to put this theory to the test. I’m going to look for stories wherever I go and see if I really do find them growing everywhere.
Before the week was over and before I even had a chance to start looking, a whole boat load of stories found me. I was telling stories at an elementary school in Provo this week, when I reconnected with a teacher there that I hadn’t seen for 8 years. I had originally met Yvonne Baraketse when I was a student at UVU and we were in a theatre/dance production together. Yvonne has since formed a performing group called Ngoma y’Africa Cultural Center and she asked if I would help with their upcoming performance.
Many of the members of Ngoma y’Africa came to the United States as refugees from various African countries and were pushed out of their homes by war, natural disasters and other atrocities. The show tells the story of their refugee experiences through music and dance. So as I’ve been trying to help them develop the narrative element of the show, I have heard many stories—I will share one.
At the end of rehearsal Friday night, I watched a single female dancer named Cheryl Neufville rehearse a solo number. I was mesmerized. It’s impossible to relate how beautiful and evocative the dance was—powerful and mournful at the same time. When she was done, I asked her about the dance. Cheryl had studied dance at the University of Utah and created the dance in honor of her grandma.
Cheryl’s family is originally from Liberia. She said her grandma was tall with long beautiful hair. She had a silent power about her—although she was quiet, her presence was strong and she taught her daughters and granddaughters to be strong and proud of who they were.
In 1989, Cheryl’s parents came to the U.S. for a wedding, leaving their two daughters with their grandma. While at the weddi
ng, war broke out and they could not get back home. Meanwhile, two rebels came to the Grandma’s house demanding her home. After hiding the two young girls, Cheryl’s grandma refused. She was not that concerned about material things, but her modest home represented their family traditions and identity. She took a stand against the rebels and what they stood for.
The two men dragged her into the street and killed her. The stories of her Grandma and the things she lived and died for still shape her family—a family that is still separated, but this summer, after 28 years, they hope to finally be reunited.
It has been a honor to hear these stories from the incredible members of Ngoma y’Africa and I’m excited to see what stories I find growing next.
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by Kim McCloskey | Mar 29, 2017 | About Storytelling
He was a lawyer, and he was my friend, but I knew he was lying.
Talking about a lawyer lying is almost cliche. However, the last few years, I’ve spent way more time than I would like sitting in a court room full of lawyers. And fortunately, in all of those interactions, I don’t think any of them lied, or even skirted the truth.
But, sitting in a the Orem Public Library last night, I knew that Dale Boam was lying. He wasn’t even trying to hide it. In fact, he was being somewhat brazen about it.
In fairness, the five people who spoke before Dale were also liars. They just weren’t as good at it as Dale. Of course, none of them were lawyers either. At the end of the evening, we all agreed that Dale was the biggest liar. We even gave him an award for it: Utah’s Biggest Liar.
Every spring as we shake off the winter, I look forward to the Utah’s Biggest Liar competition. I was reminded that the competition has been going on for 9 years and I’ve been involved for seven of them. I’ve missed a competition here or there due to work, but I put this on the calendar early and look forward to it all year. I’ve been the MC, but the last few years, I’ve been a judge.
Next year will be different. Next year will be the tenth anniversary. The world famous Bill Lepp, an award winning story teller will be a guest judge. And I’m giving up my judging spot.
Winners of the Biggest Liar’s Contest 2017 Dale Boam, Ted Erekson, Lynn Wing
Next year, I’ll put my money where my mouth is and actually compete. This isn’t some annual angst-post of “Maybe, next year. . .” I’ve been content to sit and enjoy the stories. (Although the judging is horrifically difficult because the winners are so good, it’s hard to pick one.)
So, I’m officially declaring myself in the race for Utah’s Biggest Liar. (If I win, maybe I’ll apply to law school.)
Used by permission. Rodney is a guest blogger. To view his original post and others visit his website.
![Storyteller Previews – Donald Davis and Kevin Kling]()
by Kim McCloskey | Aug 9, 2016 | About Storytelling
What Can This Year’s Tellers Teach Us About Making Time for Story?
Anticipation is building for this year’s Timpanogos Storytelling Festival. We have a great line-up of amazing storytellers, including many familiar favorites as well as some who are destined to become new favorites. Looking at our line-up this year, I realize that we can divide the tellers between two styles of telling, those who are best known for their personal stories and those who are known for their interesting twist on world stories. Each of them have evolved in their storytelling from telling to listening, from entertaining to conjuring stories from others. The two tellers we are highlighting today have much to teach us about how and why to make time for personal stories.
Only those who are new to our festival will need an introduction to our first highlighted teller. Donald Davis has been with us from the beginning and since that second festival he has delighted our audiences with his hometown characters and timeless truths. Over the past 26 years, he has encouraged us to use his stories as inspiration for collecting and preserving our own family stories.
I have had the wonderful opportunity to attend one of his workshops, read his books and listen to him in a variety of settings. Through all of that I have learned that the value of a story comes through repeatedly telling the story. Each time we tell a personal family story we learn something new about ourselves from that story. In a Ted Talk published on Dec 24, 2014 titled How the story transforms the teller Donald Davis explains “You’re not telling the story to tell what happened, you’re telling the story to change you.”
So those stories you tell around the family dinner table, or at bedtime, are not only preserving your family history, but can also help you learn more about yourself if you remember to think about what you or the other characters in the story learned from the experience. That is key. Don’t just tell what happened, tell what you learned from what happened. Those are the lessons that will stick with you and with those who are listening to your story.
Our second highlighted storyteller is Kevin Kling. He, too, is a storyteller who is best known for his personal stories. He has become a favorite of the festival in the last few years because of his hilarious adventures, quirky characters, and triumph over struggles. When I listen to Kevin I often find myself laughing until I cry and then sitting in awed silence with tear filled eyes as I absorb the inspiring message that he tops his stories off with. For me, he makes the invisible visible.
If you really want to get to know Kevin Kling watch the new PBS documentary which aired in April on his life and work called Kevin Kling: Lost and Found. In it he says, “Our stories do so many things for us. They can explain our histories, they can give us morality, all these things. But I think that the best thing we can hope for them is that they help us know that we belong, how we fit in the world.”
“I think one of the main roles of storytelling is to get through a loss. If your telling a story it’s through your vernacular, it’s through the way you see the world, and as soon as you can tell it you have already taken a step away from it and are looking back at it, which means you have started to control something that used to control you.”
In a podcast interview from On Being given on May 19, 2016 titled Kevin Kling- The losses and laughter we grow into Kevin explains why he tells stories. He said, “Our stories ask our big questions.. and by the asking in front of people and with people, even if we don’t find the answers, by the asking we know we’re not alone. And I have found that often that’s even more important then the answer.”
“We live our lives as stories. We are stories.” Kevin Kling
Join us on September 1-3 to hear these great storytellers and more in person. If you have learned something about making time for story, please feel free to share in the comments below.
by Kim McCloskey | May 14, 2016 | About Storytelling
This year’s theme for the Timpanogos Storytelling Festival is “Make Time for Story” and in the months leading up to the festival we want to find out how our volunteers, our audience and even our tellers make time for story.
Perhaps you make time for story by telling bedtime stories, scrapbooking, blogging, or journaling. Maybe some of you are creating works of art that tell your story through photography, dance, film, quilting, music, drawing, painting, writing or ceramics. Some of you are absorbing the stories of others through reading, watching movies, attending storytelling concerts, or listening to podcasts.
In my family, we have numerous ways that we make time for story. My daughter is a talented artist and tells her stories through painting and drawing. My son, who has recently graduated from college, has written in a journal nightly since he was 8 years old. My daughter-in-law is a member of the Wasatch Contemporary Dance Company and tells her story through dance and through blogging. My brother-in-law has a bedtime routine with his daughter in which they create stories. As for me, I make time for story by attending storytelling concerts, reading and listening to podcasts. Even my quilting habit allows me to express my story and see the stories of my fellow quilters.
Story has always been of interest to me, but lately I’ve been wondering if I make enough time for it. As my children are flying the coup I am wondering if I have taken time often enough to pass along the stories they will need to help them get through the rough times as well as to appreciate the good times.
My son Chase recently left the nest after graduating from college to begin a new job in a neighboring state. We’re a close family, so this is a big step for all of us. It got me wondering if I have made enough time to tell him our family stories. What stories he will be taking with him and what stories does he still need to help him know who is he and where he comes from? Have I told him about his resilient pioneering ancestors who lived on the frontier fighting off bears, surviving sudden snow storms while trapped on the open plain without shelter? Does he remember that his ancestors helped rescue the Donner party? If I did tell him, did I tell him often enough that he will remember them?
One of my goals is to make more time for story by recording the books, photos and other records that tell the story of my family to make them easily accessible to future generations. Knowing their ancestor’s stories can help my children and grandchildren know where they come from and how strong they can be. Not only is it important for me to pass their stories along, but I need to pass along my own stories as well. The bedtime stories I tell my grandchildren are an ideal time to tell them my story, but I also feel like I can make more time to record my stories through some type of journaling, whether that be electronically or by hand.
So, how do you make time for story? In what ways are you passing along your stories or creating new ones? We would love to hear from you. In the next few months this blog will be dedicated to finding people who have found joy by making time for story. If you know of someone who has found a creative way to make time for story or has a memorable experience of when they did make time for story, please contact us and let your story be told.
by Kim McCloskey | Sep 29, 2015 | About Storytelling
In her first story, Kim shared about the time she finally got her first bicycle and was so excited to be able to ride it without training wheels because that meant she could leave the driveway. Her father was the one to teach her how to ride a bike. He told her to get on the bike, grabbed onto the back of the bike, thrusted the bike forward and said, “Balance!” After doing a faceplant the first time, Kim was determined to not fall down again, and that was how she learned how to ride a bike. Remembering her father she said, “He was a survivor, and he taught me to be a survivor.”
The next story Kim shared was a brand new story about three kids named Chub, Little Joe, and Pitty Pat. Kim said she wanted to become friends with Chub because every morning before school he would raise the flag in his Boy Scout uniform, and “A man in uniform is awesome.” Chub was best friends with Little Joe who had prosthetic legs he called his cowboy boots, and they were both friends with Pitty Pat. After getting the training wheels on her bike removed, Kim drove over to the neighborhood where the three kids lived and asked if they could play. The foursome had all sorts of adventures including using Little Joe’s prosthetic legs to paddle around a lake in a boat.
Kim’s final story discussed the laps we sat in as a child. Laps we sat in that made us feel comfortable and safe like our mom’s. Laps we would try to stay out of like the lovable Aunt Louise whose lap you went into not onto, and laps we wish we sat in, like her fifth grade teacher Mrs. Ort who helped her turn what she believed was negative about herself into a positive.
Kim ended the evening by reminding us that technology is wonderful, but everyone once and awhile we need to just stop and connect with the people around you.Learn more about Kim Weitkamp at her website http://www.kimweitkamp.com/
Join us October 26 at 7 p.m. at the Orem Public Library for the annual Hauntings Competition. Click here to learn more or to enter the contest. Entries are due October 5.
by Kim McCloskey | Sep 8, 2015 | About Storytelling, Festival
Another storytelling festival has come to an end, and we’re left to share the stories, laughs and lessons with our family and friends. Stories offer many takeaways if you’re looking for them. Below are just a few mixed in with the lies, laughs and life lessons.
Stories Unite Us
Storytellers have a special gift of speaking to what we all have in common via their own experience, true or otherwise. Aspen Gashler, who started storytelling when she was three, was a special presenter for Utah’s Biggest Liars (contest held around April Fool’s Day). Her tall tale of convincing her little brother to get into the birthday cake because her mother had told her not to speaks to everyone who has had a forbidden escapade with a sibling.
Storytelling Transcends Time
Tim Lowry, dressed as a 18th century colonist, shared the story of the Battle of Sullivan’s island. The battle, which really did occur June 28, 1776, pitted Colonel William Moultrie and his partially completed fort against the British navy. Whether the British Admiral truly flipped his coat tails up at the colonists resulting in his pants being shot off will remain a mystery left to history.
Family Matters
Many tellers are inspired by their families. Antonio Sacre shares hilarious tales from both his Cuban and Boston sides of his family. Donald Davis reminded us that the one family member in charge of bad ideas (you know who they are) is an excellent source of wisdom if his or her stories are shared. Shonaleigh, who was amazed at the giant crowd gathered for laughin’ night (In England you tell a story and you’re lucky if two dogs, a whippet and a pigeon show up.) shared what women look for in a man. “I married you for a thousand unfathomable reasons, and that’s why I love you.”
Stories Hold Life’s Greatest Lessons
Many jewels of wisdom were shared throughout the festival. Here’s just a few:
- The dictionary is the place for answers- Antonio Sacre
- A promise is a promise – Ed Stivender
- If you learn something, that’s better than punishment- Donald Davis
- All of the museums were left open during the war, and when Winston Churchill was asked why, he said, “That’s our culture. That is what we are fighting for!” – Pippa White
- When you have dug yourself a hole and jumped in it, I just want you to remember, love conquers all. – Bill Harl
ey
A special thanks to all who attended and volunteered! See you again next year!
Notes:
To hear a Gullah storyteller, check out this YouTube video.
The Magic Orange Tree and Other Haitian Tales as shared by Jim May is available here.
See Bongo Java’s Nun Bun here and Kate Campbell’s Jesus and Tomatoes Comin’ Soon here.
ng, war broke out and they could not get back home. Meanwhile, two rebels came to the Grandma’s house demanding her home. After hiding the two young girls, Cheryl’s grandma refused. She was not that concerned about material things, but her modest home represented their family traditions and identity. She took a stand against the rebels and what they stood for.
