Storytellers from near and far will converge on Parksville next week.
The National Storytellers of Canada conference will be a chance for people to immerse themselves in the work of three international award-winning tale-spinners.
The event runs May 25 to May 29, including evening concerts at 7:30 p.m. on May 27 at Tigh-Na-Mara Resort and 7:30 p.m. on May 28 at Knox United Church.
Noa Baum is a storyteller, author and coach, born and raised in Jerusalem. She will offer stories from her Jewish heritage and other cultures. Baum is the author of an award-winning memoir A Land Twice Promised and a picture book How the Birds Became Friends.
Loren Niemi is a professional storyteller and award-winning author, who has spent 40 years creating, directing, performing and teaching stories. His latest book, Point of View: The Emotional Arc of Stories, is a handbook for writers and storytellers. Niemi tells contemporary personal, traditional and ghost stories.
Elizabeth Ellis has been designated an American Masterpiece Touring Artist by the National Endowment for the Arts. She is a coach and mentor. She is known for her Appalachian tales and stories of heroic women, as well as her personal stories.
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The concerts will be broadcast live via Zoom to those who cannot attend in person. Residents can attend the whole conference, choose individual workshops or the evening concerts.
This will be the first time the conference has been held in Parksville and the event will be presented by The Around Town Tellers of Nanaimo, The Mid-Island Storytellers of Parksville-Qualicum Beach and the McMillan Arts Centre.
Although vaccine cards are no longer required, patrons are encouraged to be vaccinated for COVID-19 because several attendees are immunocompromised, according to a news release from Storytellers of Canada.
— NEWS Staff, submitted