Under the Banyan tree: Victorian tellers head north to Darwin Festival

Lily Pang travelled from NSW to Darwin

Storytellers from around Australia travelled to the Darwin Festival.

Coordinated by Anne E Stewart from Victoria, shows included Under the Banyan Tree, Spirits of the Night and the Wisdom of the Elders.

One of the days in Darwin was dedicated to continuing the discussion, that began In NSW, on ways to further the development of Storytelling in Australia. Topics included the building of a National Website, the complexity of managing both volunteer and professional storytellers and unifying the names of the various storytelling groups around Australia.

For more information On the Darwin Festival and the meeting and of course to view the pics please visit underthebanyantreestorytelling.blogspot.com/.

Anne E Stewart mcing The Wisdom of the Elders: Honouring our Senior Citizens

Children's Book Council of Australia: Wordplay@Artplay

Guild Storytellers are busy during the Melbourne Writers' Festival.

This year the CBCA Book Week celebrations are part of the international gathering of wordsmiths.

While big folk gather at

Federation Square to hear author talks and assemble for literary tours of Melbourne, smaller people congregate at ArtPlay for a program of brilliant workshops and story related activities.

Book Week is the longest running children's festival in Australia, celebrating its 65th birthday in 2010.

Each year, many schools and public libraries from all over Australia spend a week celebrating books and Australian authors and illustrators.

http://cbca.org.au/index.htm

Wordplay@Artplay

Location:

ArtPlay: behind Fed. Square to the east of the playground area at Birrarung Marr. ArtPlay is where learning, imagination and play come together to expand the minds and lives of our youngest generation.

The storytellers:

Dates

August:

Saturday 28: Jackie Kerin

Sunday 29: JJ Sheills

September:

Saturday 4: Cora Zon

Sunday 5: Matteo

Times:11.15am and 2.00pm

pics Jackie and Matteo in action

Harpers School of Storytelling October 9

Program for Saturday 9th October 2010

click to enlarge posters

8.45 a.m. Arrival and registration, tea, coffee and chat.

9 a.m. Workshop: Stimulating Storytelling with Cindy-Lee Hunter Harper in Room 1

Storytelling fun to light your story fire.

11 a.m. Morning tea (provided)

11.30 a.m. Workshop: Adventures in Rhyme, Song and Story with Cindy-Lee Hunter Harper and Imelda Evans in Room 1

Storytelling skill development for those working in early

childhood education or with little ones to tell tales to.

1.30 p.m. Lunch (visit Emerald’s cafés or BYO)

3 p.m. Story Café in the Theatre Bar. Featured Teller: Imelda Evans plus chalk board to try out your story. Snacks available to purchase.

5 p.m. Dinner at local café or restaurant

7.30 p.m. Storytelling Theatre: pre-show drinks available from bar.

7.45 p.m. Show: The Colours of Hope

Cindy-Lee Hunter Harper specializes in early childhood education and teaching storytelling. Stimulating Storytelling will fire up your imagination, stir up existing skills and develop new ones through storytelling games. Adventures in Rhyme, Song and Story is a program for those living or working in early childhood education. Working with Cindy-Lee, Imelda Evans has spent years teaching Adventures which is perfect for playgroup leaders, child care workers, kindergarten teachers, parents, grand-parents, librarians and anyone who wishes to share the joy of story with the young.

Workshops: $100 per wkshp Story Café: $5 per person The Colours of Story: $10 per adult Whole Day: 2 workshops, Story Café and Theatre performance: $180 per adult

Places limited. Please book asap. www.cindyleeharper.com.au

0488 48 00 45 harperstoryschool@bigpond.com

The Gem Arts and Community Theatre, 19 Kilvington Drive, Emerald, Victoria, Australia 378

The Colours of Hope

click to enlarge poster

Gael Cresp and Tall Ted at Channel 31

Gael Cresp, another wonderful Vic storyteller, visited the set of Tall Ted's Storytime.

This is Brett Dalgleish's first adventure into children's television and progress has been amazingly smooth.

TT already has quite a presence on the internet you can check out his website http://www.tallted.com/. If you google him you can enjoy some of his youtube antics.

Storytime will go to air sometime in November.

Words in Winter Daylesford 14 - 15 August 2010

The Magic Lantern and Music show

Words in Winter is a celebration of words in all their forms and expressions throughout the Helpburn Shire. This year the Storytelling Guild was proudly associated with two events.

On Saturday David Demant was kept busy with three of his Magic Lantern Shows. He packed the Daylesford Town Hall - full to overflowing with children who delighted in the old technologies.

In David's words, "In the 19th Century, there was no TV, 3D, computers or Blue-ray. But there were other things that were just as special."

We were treated to music stored in pins and sounds stored on cylinders of wax. David is Senior Curator Information and Communication at Museum Victoria. He is also a member of the Storytelling Guild of Victoria.

David believes that storytelling is the most effective form of communication in museums and everywhere else.

Before there were books, there were storytellers

On Sunday, The Ballarat Story Tellers played host to over thirty guests who ventured to the Daylesford Historic Court House. A freezing and wet afternoon, we were overwhelmed by the interest in our artform. Hosted by John Bowers and supported by Rheta, Jan

and others, there was much panic in the kitchen as we wondered if we had enough food. Once again Claudette from the Vic Guild had donated chai and we managed to consume 6 litres!

The BST are outstanding yarn spinners and as the event progressed, several of the guests spontaneously took to the story chair. Stories ranged from the improvised, the autobiographical, historical and fanciful.

I look forward to 2011, another bucket of chai and more fabulous stories.

Thanks to all the Ballarat Storytellers who worked to make it happen at Words in Winter.

John Bowers dressed for the occasion

Some content and well storied people

Elf Winter: Leaf Fellow’s Eve: July, Folk Federation Centre, Adelaide

Elf Winter

Report on Elf Winter / Leaf Fellow’s Eve: July, Folk Federation Centre, Adelaide

Storytelling & songs from fey minstrel Louisa John-Krol (guitar, mandolin, voice)

Bron Lloyd (hurdy-gurdy, voice), Kim Brown (bouzouki), Adrienne Piggott (voice),

Brett Taylor (keyboard), Samantha Taylor (flute), Liam & Skye (percussion, ocarina)

culminating in mythic folk-rock band Spiral Dance, whirling us through a tempest!

A sweet gathering of our ancient fey tribe ‘twas indeed! People of all ages dressed for the occasion, some joining me on stage with chimes and cuddles.

Why access fantasy only through films or computers: cut off from nature and communities? I cherish oral storytelling, poetry recital, dance and communion between all generations and faiths. We evolved to gather round fires and rings, singing while tilling, harvesting, sailing, herding, washing and weaving.

In rejuvenating myths and legends, we recover our humanity.

To those of you who attended Elf Winter, thank you with all our spirits.

May the elves kiss you on the brow of Dreaming.

Spiral Dance

Paul Gooding (accordion), Nick Carter (electric guitar), Rick Kearsley (drums),

Adrienne Piggot (vocals), Hayley Purcell (violin), David Bentley (bass)

We reunite at these 2010 shows:

Witches Ball, Sat 2 October, Sydney

Feline Faery Fest, Fri 10 & Sat 11 December, Melbourne

Summer Faery Ball, Sat 18 December, Adelaide

Spiral Dance, fresh from touring USA, play at the Spirit of Albion

& Woodford Folk Festival.

Louisa has released several albums, mostly on French faerie label: www.prikosnovenie.com

She’s performed at Faerieworlds in Oregon & Trolls et Legendes, Belgium.

“On the day when the green fields

Are a colony goldenly ruled by Apollo,

May the sensation we have of life

Be a dance within us.”

(Pessoa)

Spiral Dance : http://www.spiraldance.com.au/?Spiral_Dance

Louisa John-Kroll : www.louisajohnkrol.com/

Louisa is based in Melbourne and her relationship with the Vic Guild goes back many years.

Ned Kelly: a little boy, a bridge, a green sash

The story of Ned Kelly rescuing little Richard Shelton from drowning in Hughes Creek in Avenel is a favourite with storytellers, especially in Victoria. A big story, The Kelly uprising frames a period of history that embraces the tensions between the squatters and the selectors, debate around the notion of a Republic, the gold rushes, Chinese miners, Catholic and Protestant animosity ... Travelling up the Hume Highway the string of towns along the way are rich with stories of struggle, oppression, rebellion and hardship on a scale that is hard to imagine. For a while now, I have been telling the story of the time when young Ned Kelly rescued Mr and Mrs Esau Shelton's son from drowning. It was a brave act - and the Shelton's rewarded Ned with a green silk sash with gold braid tassels. It's interesting to speculate what the sash meant to Ned in a life so hard and bereft of anything other than the necessities for survival. He was wearing the sash under his armour when he was captured at Glenrowen after being shot 28 times. The bloodstained sash can be seen today in the Benalla Museum.

These pics were taken late in the day so they are a little

dark. But they show the beautiful stone bridge across Hughes Creek. Probably little Richard fell from a temporary bridge a bit further along the

creek. The 'Royal Mail Hotel' (now called The Imperial) has a bullnose verandah addition but you just see the older building behind.

The hotel is still owned by a 'Shelton' - Richard Shelton and leased to the current

managers.If you want to read the sign, click to enlarge.

If you are interested in telling the story - you are most welcome to use the version that I wrote. You can download it from my website

http://www.jackiekerin.com.au/. Click on stories.

Enjoy Jackie Kerin