Time with the Tribe

[Kate Chadbourne]

Hi Everyone -
Just wanted to share with you a blog post I wrote about my experience at STF last weekend. As you can see, I loved it!

sending good wishes to all of you -
Kate


Time with the Tribe
Yesterday I had the great honor of presenting a talk at Sharing the Fire, a storytelling conference hosted by the League for the Advancement of New England Storytelling (LANES, thank goodness). The day offered a bouquet of delights for me and for all who attended, I imagine - including some wonderful workshops, a bazaar full of tempting books and music and musical instruments, and an evening concert of mesmerizing stories.

It was also a chance to spend time with friends I cherish, and to make some new ones. Such people! Such brave lives, passionate lives, inspiring lives...

But, being the sensual creature I am, I must say it was also a chance to gawk! When storytellers dress up for an occasion, they pull out the stops. I marveled at purple velvet and painted silk. Turquoise clusters in silver. Blue platform boots. Dapper vests which, on closer inspection, revealed embroidered patterns in gold thread. Quilted jackets as respelendent as Joseph's amazing technicolor dreamcoat! Everywhere I looked, I saw beauty, whimsy, thoughtful adornment, symbol, imagination, and the freedom to express aspects that sometimes remain obscured to the rest of the world.

It was, to be honest, like a trip to The Leaky Cauldron in Diagon Alley. And that makes sense, doesn't it? Storytellers ARE magicians, illusionists, alchemists, hedge witches and conjurorors... They go quietly among the Muggles* but when the occasion presents itself, they burst out in glory, in wild and lovable quirkiness.

Today I am renewed and happy. No matter how many gray places I go, I can think of all the storytellers drinking a celebratory cocktail in the late afternoon sun, garbed in a rainbow of colors. I can revel in the memory of spending a day with my own loopy, creative, ingenious, brilliant tribe!


(* Just wanted to say that for me the concept of Mugglehood is open to debate. Is anyone a 100% Muggle? I don't think so. Nevertheless, some people choose to live more as Muggles than as wizards. Should they choose to reverse that equation, a warm welcome awaits them at the Leaky Cauldron!).

[Vernon L. Cox]

As a Potter Fan I can not think of a better way to describe our diverse and talented group. Some have called us Story Wizards before, it is a term I am endeared to.

Thanks Kate
Hey can we reprint this on other sites we have STF info? We are now on Proffessional Storytellers and FaceBook.

Heres to the Stories Cheers.

To Entertain and Enlighten
Wanderting Story Wizard
Learnin' Vernon

[Kate Chadbourne]

Hi Vernon!
Absolutely - I'd be delighted to share this on other sites. If anyone needs to know, I wrote it originally for my blog, "The Green Wave," at http://katechadbourne.livejournal.com/.

Here's to the stories, indeed!

Kate