World Storytelling Day 2023

World Storytelling Day is a global celebration of oral storytelling marked on or around March 20. I’ve been involved in countless gatherings over the years and even during the worst years of Covid. But to be honest, the strain of being chirpy during the lockdowns and isolation took its toll.

However I’m surrounded by wonderful people who love the art of spoken story as much as I do, and fueled by their enthusiasm, we created an awesome event inviting storytellers and musicians from around the world into our patch.

We had two sessions - one for Children and following that - one for All Ages. We had access to technology so we dropped a big screen and enjoyed guests from India, NSW, Bangladesh and Canada. We had stories from Japan, Poland, Germany and Kazakhstan. The second session was recorded by one of our members, Adrian Newington - for others to enjoy and as a memory of a fabulous day.

This was a celebration from the grass roots - local community enjoying connection.

Having fun with Sarah Depasquale as we settle in to tell our story (photo: Gerry Nelson)

I’m part of community of people who gather under the name - Newport Storytellers. It’s a long story how it came to be but I’m the current coordinator of the regular monthly events. We’ve had a few adventures over the years and we’ve even made a podcast!