Vancouver Society of Storytelling

5 communities, 5 elements, 5 objects… countless stories.

 For the ELEMENTAL initiative the VSOS is working with 5 different communities in Vancouver, from March 2011-June 2012. Each community uses stories about a different element (air, earth, water, fire, metal) as a central metaphor. A storytelling workshop series is followed by the creation of a physical legacy and community celebration.

A bicycle/bus tour will serve to showcase ELEMENTAL on Saturday June 9th. Lube up your bike…we’re goin’ for a ride with the 19th Vancouver International Storytelling Festival!!

ELEMENTAL: air

From March – May 2011, more than 300 kids and seniors living in Strathcona built a giant “Storytelling Rokkaku” (Japanese fighter kite) during ELEMENTAL air. 

History: The Strathcona Community Centre approached the VSOS to collaborate on a project that would help provide activities for their youth during the extended March ‘School Closure Days’. Because of the demographics of Strathcona, the metaphor materialized as kites; just as kites need the wind and air to fly, stories need the breath and air in order to be heard.

From the stories shared over kite making, a series of ‘hopes and wishes for the world’ were distilled and then incorporated onto the tail of a giant Rokkaku (Japanese six cornered kite). The Strathcona Youth Council took on the project and helped steer Stories on The Wind towards a Youth Week event.

The May 1^st event was a lovely kite-flying and storytelling festival in Crab Park (at the foot of Main st.) with professional storytellers, kite crafting and flying. As the kites flew, they released their prayers and stories onto the wind and the music and stories were amplified through a pedal-powered sound-system (http://pedalpower.org/)

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ELEMENTAL: earth

The VSOS, together with community stakeholders, celebrated EarthDay 2012 with our ELEMENTAL storytellers’ bench! During a free cob-building workshop with the MudGirls, we learned more about St. George Creek, the False Creek Watershed and the waters surrounding the Salish Sea!

This partnership with the St. George Blueway, Native Education College (NEC) and the Mt. Pleasant Family Centre gave a solid grounding to the intentions launched during air.  Elder storytellers indigenous to the land shared stories of the earth and plants at a community workshop series, hosted at the NEC. These workshops increased awareness of the land’s historical, geographic, political, peopled narrative.

The site for our ‘storyteller’s bench’ is the N/W corner of Robson Park at 13^th and St. George, Vancouver B.C.. This is a very relevant site because it is the headwaters of St. George Creek as well as a nexus of business (Hyundai car dealership), service providers (Kivan Boys and Girls Club, Family Place, Odyssey) and private residences as well as being part of a public park with a wide array of activities and users including a community garden. Additionally, it is part of the Mt. Pleasant Watershed.

Many community groups have been raising awareness of the creek while working towards meeting the needs of all the intersecting interests. Through building a cob bench, the VSOS is in direct support of daylighting the creek. The bench provides a wonderful opportunity to take rest and contemplate ‘source’ while also being a physical reminder of the need for ongoing dialogue and story-sharing within healthy communities.

 

We are grateful to Green City Builders for helping us up-cycle rubble into Urbanite! We also took some of rubble and rocks from the mouth of Brewery Creek, helping to unplug the Lost Creek Fen. Thank you to Beth at ClayZone Ceramic for the clay, and Chez Baba for our delicious EarthDay stew!

 

ELEMENTAL: water

On the November 2011 full moon, we began  a 6 week storytelling workshop series co-sponsored by the VSOS and Vancouver Community College. Participants were invited to bring a “water” story of their choosing to the workshop.

By bringing careful consideration to the location of VCC on the False Creek Flats the VSOS’s intention was to foster an understanding of and respect for the land’s historical, geographic, political, peopled and wild narrative. We are currently making a book of “watermarks” for each story. Fibers for the book were sourced at The Means of Production Garden which is located in China Creek Park.

ELEMENTAL: fire

For fire we are working at the Moberly Arts and Cultural Centre (MACC), with a grade 6/7 class from Trudeau Elementary. The students have developed an exciting story about a bear, a scorpion, food security and Ayurvedic medicine.

They are also stewarding the onions they planted in the MACC herb garden, in preparation for June 9th, when they will tell their tale!

ELEMENTAL:metal

Finally, working with the University Women’s Club (UWC), metal is conceived as a give-away, honoring the West Coast tradition that one’s wealth is measured by how much you can give away. Please join us for the ELEMENTAL:reception on the grounds of Hycroft, home of the UWC.

ELEMENTAL:what stories are made of… is an opportunity to engage with the social, cultural, ethnic, linguistic, and religious diversity of Vancouver, in a creative, multi-storied context.

To date, ELEMENTAL is made possible through funding from the Canada Council, Heritage Canada, City of Vancouver (Cultural Services), Vancouver Board of Parks and Recreation (Neighbourhood Matching Fund), and the BC Arts Council.

We are grateful to our partners, the Strathcona Community Centre and Youth Council, The Mt. Pleasant Family Centre, the Native Education College, Vancouver Community College, Moberly Arts and Culture Centre and the University Women’s Club

              

           

  

  

 

As the year continues, we are excited to grow our community of partners, funders and artists.