Northstar Events

P.J. Stories
Thursday, February 2, 6:30 – 7:30pm
Coffee Grounds Coffee Shop
1579 Hamline Ave., Falcon Hts. MN

www.thecoffeegrounds.net

Northstar’s own Children’s Storytelling guild will present: A Story, A Story. Members will share tales from the world over. Come take a trip around the world with us. We will travel to Japan, China, Eastern Europe, Ireland and the United States.

P.J Stories is a story time just like a peanut butter sandwich–a story on both sides and lots of fun squished in-between. Each first Thursday of the month a different storyteller is featured. P.J.’s has been presenting stories for school aged students for over 5 years. For directions call the Coffee Grounds at 651-644-9959 or visit www.thecoffeegrounds.net. Sponsored by Northstar Storytelling League and the Coffee Grounds Coffee Shop. Free. Donations gratefully accepted.

Teaching Without Preaching: Creating Stories that Educate AND Entertain
with Susan O’Halloran
Monday, February 13, 7-9:30pm
Location: 35th and Grand in Uptown

(private home; exact address will be provided upon registration)

$30 for Northstar Members, $40 for others

You have something to say in a story, but how do you say it without sounding too pushy, opinionated or downright boring? This workshop shows how to combine education and entertainment into stories that respect, enlighten and emotionally move your audience members to take action. You’ll leave better understanding your motives for telling socially relevant stories and be given practical ways to overcome the fears all of us have around taking stands. You’ll learn how to structure stories for deeper meaning and how those structures differ from other fables and personal stories.

Susan O’Halloran is one of America’s top Diversity Speakers and Storytellers. Susan is an author and a producer of Black, White and Brown: Tribes & Bridges at the Steppenwolf Theatre and More Alike Than Not: Stories of Three Americans – Catholic, Jewish and Muslim and the long-running JustStories Festival. In high school, she became part of an interracial youth group and studied with adults who were working with Dr. King. She has been building bridges between cultures ever since.

The Chicago Reader says O’Halloran “has mastered the Irish art of telling stories that are funny and heart-wrenching at the same time.” Her audiences say: “In an entertaining way, Sue opened our minds to how society still excludes and what we can do to create a more welcoming world!” Susan was a National Storytelling Network keynote speaker and has several times been a featured teller at the National Storytelling Festival. Sue lives in Evanston, Illinois and can be found at: www.susanohalloran.com and 1-866-997-8726.

Select

General – $40 Northstar Members – $30

Buy a 4-Workshop Punchcard!

Northstar Members – $80 Non-members – $130

To learn about other upcoming workshops in our series, go to our Workshop Series page.

Children’s Storytelling Guild
Thursday, Feb. 23, 7:00 – 9:00pm
Location: TBD

The Children’s Storytelling guild’s schedule for winter and spring is listed below, mark your calendars. We usually meet the 4th Thursday of the month at a member’s house. We welcome anyone interested in telling stories to children. Feel free to come to share a story you are working on, any point in the development of your story is fine. Meetings usually run two hours, from 7-9pm. Please feel free to email questions to Pam Schweitzer pls2009@live.com. Schedule: Feb. 23, March 22, April 26, May 24

P.J. Stories
Thursday, March 1, 6:30 – 7:30pm
Coffee Grounds Coffee Shop
1579 Hamline Ave., Falcon Hts. MN

www.thecoffeegrounds.net

March 1st – I Wish I Were Irish! Wear your green pajamas and be transported to Ireland for an evening of leprechauns and magic. The Rainbow Lady, Vickijoan, will enchant the audience with her lively stories and songs from Ireland. Come join the mischief and mirth.

P.J Stories is a story time just like a peanut butter sandwich–a story on both sides and lots of fun squished in-between. Each first Thursday of the month a different storyteller is featured. P.J.’s has been presenting stories for school aged students for over 5 years. For directions call the Coffee Grounds at 651-644-9959 or visit www.thecoffeegrounds.net. Sponsored by Northstar Storytelling League and the Coffee Grounds Coffee Shop. Free. Donations gratefully accepted.

Beyond Happily Ever After
with Loren Niemi
Monday, March 19, 7-9:30pm
Location: 35th and Grand in Uptown

(private home; exact address will be provided upon registration)

$30 for Northstar Members, $40 for others

A workshop on arriving at appropriate and satisfying conclusions. A story begins at the beginning (and we might argue that anyplace we want to start will do) but where it ends should not be left up to happenstance, failure of imagination or bad timing. We will examine and test story endings – from the classical formulas, to the emotional, the philosophical, punch lines and useful or patronizing morals to understand something about the where and how of ending our stories. For: beginner through advanced storyteller

Loren Niemi is a storyteller, performer, writer/poet and the Executive Director of In the Heart of the Beast Puppet & Mask Theatre. His storytelling and written work has been called “postmodern” with a bias toward the philosophically and emotionally nuanced story. His community building work has been divided between working usually with neighborhoods or arts organizations and often with minority and immigrant groups. He is the co-author with Elizabeth Ellis of the critically acclaimed “Inviting the Wolf In: Thinking About Difficult Story” and the author of the forthcoming “The New Book of Plots” on the use of narrative plot forms.

Select

General – $40 Northstar Members – $30

Buy a 4-Workshop Punchcard!

Northstar Members – $80 Non-members – $130

To learn about other upcoming workshops in our series, go to our Workshop Series page.

P.J. Stories
Thursday, April 5, 6:30 – 7:30pm
Coffee Grounds Coffee Shop
1579 Hamline Ave., Falcon Hts. MN

www.thecoffeegrounds.net

Nothando Zulu is a master storyteller who has told stories to many different audiences for over 30 years. Her stories entertain, educate, inspire, and motivate. As a nationally and internationally celebrated storyteller, she tells stories which draw from an extensive group of colorful characters who are often funny and whose antics leave audiences pondering their own life’s lessons. As director of the Black Storyteller’s Alliance, she, along with her husband and board produce a yearly three day storytelling festival called “Signifyin’ and Testifyin’.” You will not want to miss this evening with one of Minnesota’s best storytellers!

P.J Stories is a story time just like a peanut butter sandwich–a story on both sides and lots of fun squished in-between. Each first Thursday of the month a different storyteller is featured. P.J.’s has been presenting stories for school aged students for over 5 years. For directions call the Coffee Grounds at 651-644-9959 or visit www.thecoffeegrounds.net. Sponsored by Northstar Storytelling League and the Coffee Grounds Coffee Shop. Free. Donations gratefully accepted.

P.J. Stories
Every 1st Thursday of the month
6:30 – 7:30pm
Coffee Grounds Coffee Shop
1579 Hamline Ave., Falcon Hts. MN

www.thecoffeegrounds.net

P.J Stories is a story time just like a peanut butter sandwich–a story on both sides and lots of fun squished in-between. Each first Thursday of the month a different storyteller is featured. P.J.’s has been presenting stories for school aged students for over 5 years. For directions call the Coffee Grounds at 651-644-9959 or visit www.thecoffeegrounds.net. Sponsored by Northstar Storytelling League and the Coffee Grounds Coffee Shop. Free. Donations gratefully accepted.

Children’s Storytelling Guild

The Children’s Storytelling Guild meets the fourth Thursday of each month. We share stories and receive feedback from the group. Anyone interested in telling stories to children is welcome to participate. If you are interested in attending, please contact Pam Schweitzer for location at pls2009@live.com.