Regina to host national storytelling conference

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Saskatchewan-based storytellering and performing duo Cheryl L'Hirondelle and Joseph Naytowhow, also known as Nikamok, will be among the presenters taking part during the Storytellers of Canada 12 annual national conference and gathering, to be held in Regina June 3 to 6.

Living Sky Stories ... from Prairie to Pine is the theme of this year's conference, which will provide participants with an opportunity to get to know each other and share their stories.

With Regina playing host, the conference will incoporate elements of Saskatchewan storytelling into the mix, including a First Nations component.

"Part of our conference is we're honouring a very strong element of the First Nations community," explained Vincent Murphy, co-chair of the conference..

Shannon Thunderbird, a storyteller and performer from B.C., is also scheduled to take part in the conference. Thunderbird will both perform and present at the conference, offering a workshop entitled Wisdom of the Ages: The Art and Glory of the Indigenous Oral Narrative.

While the majority of the event will take place at the MacKenzie Art Gallery in Regina, conference goers will get a chance to take part in a First Nations and natural history interpretive story tour to Fort Qu'Appelle on June 5, during which H'Lirondelle, Naytowhow and Thunderbird are all scheduled to perform.

The four-day conference will also feature tours of a variety of local attractions, a youth storytelling open mike, a First Light Sun Stories Ceremony in honour of the summer solstice, and a professional development session designed to help storytellers discover how to make a living from their art.

More information about the national storytelling conference can be found online at www.familylearning.ca/stories/. You can also e-mail your questions to prairietopine@yahoo.ca, or call Vincent Murphy at 982-2386.