Storytelling Newsletters from The Story Tree Company

May 09 \| April 09 \| Dec 08
April Newsletter Dear Friends of the Story Tree, Welcome to my first newsletter. I hope you had a great Autumn Equinox and may harmony and balance be strengthening in your life as the day and night have become similar in length. Inanna is a great Autumn Equinox tale and I had the privelage recently to tell it at a women's retreat in a beautiful venue. Passionate discussion ensued- inspiring! In this newsletter -Autumn in full swing and the tales to match -Mermaid Shoes CD's on special -The Story Tree in schools -Story Tree on Radio- Bay FM 99.9 FM- May -Byron Stories night at the Byron Writer's Festival! Autumn in full swing and the tales to match Though the shops are overflowing with tinsel wrapped eggs, as we travel deeper into the darker, cooler part of the year, the next seasonal event for our hemisphere is Samhain (Halloween) 30 April, when we can honour the beloved dead. The tale of Baba Yaga and Vasalisa and stories of that kind are perfect for this time. Many version on the web. A fantastic resource for family friendly seasonal tales, songs, dances, rituals and activities is "Circle Round" by Starhawk, Diane Baker and Annie Hill (Bantam Books). Mermaid Shoes CD's on special Need a birthday present soon, want to stock up the emergency presents cupboard or keep a back up copy for the car over the holidays? You can buy 'Mermaid's Shoes' CD's in plastic covers (rather than the cardboard traypacks) for $10 each (HALF PRICE) plus $5 postage until stocks last. The Story Tree in schools Wednesday April 1 I'll be doing a show in Ocean Shores Preschool. Bookweek is almost full, but if you have a child that goes to school or preschool, and you would like me to tell stories there attached is 1. My schools show flyer with show descriptions, workshop descriptions and rates on page 2. 2. The flyer for my award-winning storytelling CD's, with prices and ordering informationfor school librarians and teachers. Some schools are already booked up for the year and will probably plan for 2010 in Term 3. So I'll try to remember to resend then then. Please note: If your school is dealing with a special project or issue, please let me know as I may well be able to link that theme into my storytelling. Please don't hesitate to call me if you have any queries at all! (Feel free to forward this email to anyone who may be looking for a show or CD's such as mine.) Story Tree on Radio- Bay FM 99.9 FM- May This afternoon I will be pre-recording an interview with Des Bellamy. His show is "Colours of Byron". It features locals telling their story about why they live in Byron Shire and plays Sunday mornings. Des and I will talk about what brought me to the Byron shire and also about one of my next projects; Byron Stories at this years Byron Writer's Festival. It will be on one Sunday in May- I should be able to give you a date next newsletter. "Byron Stories" night at the Byron Writer's Festival Last year I made a proposal to Jeni Caffin to co-ordinate an evening of locals telling Byron stories. She has given me the go ahead and the venue will be the Byron Bay Community Centre, which is very exciting. So far the plan includes just a few high profile Byron people, some locals we rarely hear from who have a good yarn or two about how Byron once was, both before and after Aquarius, some music and some time to chat. Recently I was asked a question by a very gracious woamn who is very grounded in the traditions of her people- the Maori. She told me that Moari people never ask 'What do you do?', but 'Who are you?' by which they mean, 'Who are your people?' and 'What land do you come from?' From this comes the question 'What ground do you stand on?" Personally I I found contemplating this was deeply profound. As this is my chosen place to live, the place of my heart, where I have borne two children, it helps me to feel this ground more solidly under me when I know the stories of this place, when I can meet the elders of this place. I'll let you know more as the evening takes shape. Sincerely, Jenni Cargill-Strong 18 Morrison Ave Mullumbimby NSW 2482 www.thestorytreecompany.com.au 02 6684 6548 (Please ignore PO box above)
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