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Saturday, December 13, 2014

FEZZIWIG'S BALL - Coming Sunday, December 21st Beginning at 11am

“ . . . the floor was swept and watered, the lamps were trimmed, fuel was heaped upon the fire; and the warehouse was as snug, and warm, and dry, and bright a ball-room as you would desire to see upon a winter's night.”

StoryFest Events presents its sunset celebration of Charles Dickens' holiday classic.  Nine talented voices over four hours will take you on the journey of insight and redemption of the miserly Ebenezer Scrooge. Once we've come to "The End of It", put on your dancing shoes and dance like it's 1843!  Dubhna Rhiadra will spin some appropriate festive tunes to celebrate the season and the redemption of a soul.

Join us at Fezziwig's Warehouse, appearing magically in the Event Space B on Imagination Island. Victorian attire is suggested, but certainly not required.  All times Pacific, and A CHRISTMAS CAROL will be presented live in voice.

11am: Stave One, "Marley's Ghost"             with Caledonia Skytower & Shandon Loring


Noon: Stave Two, "The First of Three Spirits" with  Bhelanna Blaze & John Morland


1pm: Stave Three, "The Second of Three Spirits" with Kayden Oconnell & Aoife Lorefield


2pm: Staves Four & Five, "The Last of the Spirits" & "The End of It" with Corwyn Allen, Freda Frostbite, & Dubhna Rhiadra


DON'T MISS IT! - December 21st On Imagination Island




Wednesday, December 3, 2014

ANNOUNCING: Fezziwig's Ball!

From the folks who brought you THE DICKENS PROJECT, . . .

FEZZIWIG'S BALL
Sunday, December 21st
from 11am to 4pm SLT


"In they all came, one after another; some shyly, some boldly, some gracefully, some awkwardly, some pushing, some pulling; in they all came, any how and every how."

StoryFest Events presents its final celebration in Second Life (c).  We'll ring out four great years of stories and events with one final festival. Fezziwig's Ball will feature a complete reading of the entire text of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol presented by many of the storytellers you have come to know though our events, followed by dancing.  It will be a party that Mr. Fezziwig would have proudly called his own.

 A CHRISTMAS CAROL beginning at 11am SLT
    ~ 11am: Stave One, "Marley's Ghost"
     ~ Noon: Stave Two, "The First of Three Spirits"
     ~ 1pm: Stave Three, "The Second of Three Spirits"
     ~ 2pm: Staves Four & Five, "The Last of the Spirits" & "The End of It"

WE DANCE following the conclusion of Stave Five, just after 3pm.

MARK YOUR CALENDARS - December 21st On Imagination Island

***
We'd like to thank everyone who has been so incredibly supportive of StoryFest Events over the past four years, including: Branwen Arts, Crap Mariner, Inara Pey, Equinox Pinion & Denis Lagan, and Thinkerer Melville PLUS all the great storytellers, readers and performers who have been a part of Storyfest, Bard On the Beach, BOOFest, and The Dickens Project -- It's been a fabulous time!

Some of these events may re-emerge in the future under new sponsorship and management, but StoryFest Events as a production entity is closing its storybook as of this event.

Monday, October 20, 2014

THANK YOU BOOFEST!

Another great festival: fabulous stories well told, great audience, wonderful cause!
After over five hours of non-stop stories (except for those brief moments of stretching and "hokey-pokeying")  Live and Learn in Kenya's Feed-A-Smile Program had 318 more meals fro kids in Kenya than they did before.

That total is kind of hard to equate, so look at it this way: if this were one child, 318 meals would mean three meals a day for 106 days, OR nearly four months!  Not bad for just telling stories, eh?

Many thanks to Branwen Arts and Seanchai Library for another great event.  Our gratitude to Brique Topaz and Live and Learn in Kenya for letting bring our madness to The Lavender Field.

And thanks to Rick Quargen for the FAB composite photos!




Saturday, October 18, 2014

BOOFest - Sunday, October 19th to Benefit Feed-a-Smile!

The fires have been banked and the stories are being polished and ready.  BOOFest is raring to celebrate its fourth year of spooky stories shared 'round the virtual fire to raise money for good causes in the corporeal world.

This year, we will be at a Lavender Fields, on a wonderful spooky festival set created by Dubhna Rhiadra, and all donations from BOOFest will benefit Live and Learn in Kenya’s “Feed a Smile” program 

Festivities will begin at 10am SLT and conclude around 3pm (technical difficulties not withstanding) and all stories will be presented live, in voice.  http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Feed%20A%20Smile/59/20/24

SCHEDULE
All times SLT and always subject to change without notice, because "stuff" happens.

10:00 am - Dubhna Rhiadra
Dubhna is not only a reader of soulful and memorable style, but is also a creator of original tales, and a self-published author.  This year she'll be sharing some of her own stories - a perfect way to begin our BOOFest celebration. Some of her published works can be found on Amazon and AmazonUK.





Wednesday, October 15, 2014

BOOFest This Sunday! 10am - 3:30pm SLT

The fires have been banked and the stories are being polished and ready.  BOOFest is raring to celebrate its fourth year of spooky stories shared 'round the virtual fire to raise money for good causes in the corporeal world.

This year, we will be at a Lavender Fields, on a wonderful spooky festival set created by Dubhna Rhiadra, and all donations from BOOFest will benefit Live and Learn in Kenya’s “Feed a Smile” program 

Festivities will begin at 10am SLT and conclude around 3pm (technical difficulties not withstanding) and all stories will be presented live, in voice.  http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Feed%20A%20Smile/59/20/24

TENTATIVE SCHEDULE
All times SLT

10:00 am - Dubhna Rhiadra
10:30am - Shandon Loring
11:00am - Bhelanna Blaze
11:30am - BigRed Coyote
Noon - Dubhna & Caledonia reading works by Moon Aerandir
12:30pm - Gyro Muggins
1:00pm - Aoife
1:30pm - Corwyn Allen
2:00pm - Freda Frostbite
2:30pm - Crap Mariner
3:00pm - Caledona Skytower

(Content descriptions for each 30 minute session will be posted Friday evening, along with other schedule updates.  Stay Tuned!)

*** 
Also Benefiting Feed a Smile this weekend:

BOOSTOCK! Saturday, October 18th from. 2-5pm  
Be afraid, Be very afraid!!!  On the eve of Boofest, the Bran Estate hosts Boostock!!! music and more.



Featuring . . . .
2 pm -  Mavenn singing her halloween set. 
3 pm - Frankentinies (aka Pitter Patter Dance company) doing a truly scary horror show. 
4 pm - Songbird Sorbet, the tiny opera singer. 

Tuesday, September 16, 2014

CALL FOR STORIES for BOOFest '14

Soon it will be time again to gather round the crackling fire as the air crisps with Autumn, and tell ghosty-ghouly tales.  We'll gather at Bran on October 19th for the 4th Annual BOOfest.

Submissions for story presentations will be accepted for 30 minute time slots.  Some 60 minute slots will be available, and we request those who are interested to claim a 30 minute slot first, and indicate that they would be interested in 60 minutes if one is available.  Our primary goal is to involve as many different storytellers as are interested in participating, to provide the broadest selection of stories & voices for our audience. Literature Readings, Traditional Telling, and Original Works are all accepted.  No "Adult" material, please.

Tentatively, stories will begin at 10am SLT and conclude at 5pm SLT, but that may be subject to change.  Story presentations must be live, not pre-recorded.  Those interested in Presenting should contact Caledonia Skytower or Dubhna Rhiadra in world via notecard (PLEASE!).

Include the following information in your notecard:

    ~ Your name. Whether you are performing solo or with others (please include their names),

    ~ The piece you intend to present if you know it (not required till we actually get to October).

    ~ Time of day preference or any time constraints we need to consider when scheduling you.

    ~ The size time slot you need (Are you interested in a 60 minute time slot if the schedule can accommodate it?)

As with StoryFest, there will be no stream available, and limited rezzing.  Just your voice in the dark . . . Mwwwwahahahahahahahaah!

Submissions to present will be accepted through the end of the Virtual Day on October 10th.

THIS YEAR, BOOFest will be held at The Lavender Fields and 100% of tips will go to benefit Feed-A-Smile Kenya! Check out this Episode of The Drax Files: World Makers to learn more about them:



BOOFest is presented by StoryFest Events, Branwen Arts, and Seanchai Library

Tuesday, July 15, 2014

ANNOUNCEMENT: BARD ON THE BEACH 2014

We regret to announce that, due to a number of non-virtual conflicts this year - and difficulty scheduling, BARD ON THE BEACH will be on a hiatus this August.  Should the fates, real and virtual, decree that the time is opportune and there is sufficient community interest, BARD will return in 2015.

Thanks for all of your support!

Wednesday, May 21, 2014

ABOUT AS COOL AS IT GETS!

From this year's StoryFest in March, Pia Klaar and Dubhna Rhiadra have created this marvelous video it the story being performed in Second Life, and the real performer at her home.  It's a phenonmenal example of what some of us do, and are committed to in the use of virtual worlds to enhance, expand and augment the ways in which stories can be transmitted.

Take a look!

Sunday, March 23, 2014

THANK YOU EVERYONE!

Another amazing celebration of stories is over, and again we show how seemingly simple virtual activity has real world impact.  StoryFest 2014 benefits War Child North America. Thank you everyone: Storytellers, Guests, Hosts!  Great day, fun times, fabulous stories!


GOT PHOTOS OF THE EVENT?

Here's a great one of Shandon Loring telling a great surfing tale, all dressed in his trunks!



Saturday, March 22, 2014

STORYFEST IS HERE!

Stories are an important part of who we are as human beings.  It doesn't matter whether it is a "the one that got away" tale shared over a pint, or a masterwork of literature designed to make you contemplate large life issues.  Stories help us express ourselves, and make sense of our world.  In stories, we can arrange the details so that the chaotic physical and emotional experiences of life make sense.  Stories are powerful.

Welcome to StoryFest 2014, the fourth annual gathering of great stories and presenters coming together to present six hours of adventure!  StoryFest 2014 is free, with donations going to benefit War Child North America, and is presented in a partnership between Branwen Arts, Stories Unlimited! and Seanchai Library.

Join us at the Story Circle at Bran  http://slurl.com/secondlife/Bran/74/135/25
All Times SLT ~ Schedule subject to change without notice, sometimes even to those organizing!

11:00am - Dubhna Rhiadra
Dubhna Rhiadra, intinerate elven storyteller and author, is known for her relaxed, soulful style and an effortlessness scholarship in her original works.  Today she shares some tales of her own, created especially for today's celebration.  Sit back and enjoy!





11:30am - Shandon Loring
Shandon Loring is the Chief Storyteller at SL's Seanchai Library, as well as a narrator of audio books available through Audible. In honor of World Storytelling Day 2014 theme Monsters and Dragons, Shandon presents true life monsters of the sea… "To deliberately place oneself in a maelstrom seems reckless, yet Big Wave riders rush to the raging lineup as if to a tryst. From the very first moment the big wave surfers are driven underwater by a breaking wave, they begin to die..."

Noon - Crap Mariner
Long ago, he swore an oath to write a 100 word story every day until the day he died. He's not dead yet. Always unpredictable and irreverent, no subject is too sacred, no cow too holy for Crap not to pull it out, examine it, and bang it on the table a few times before putting it back where he found it - albeit slightly crumpled.  He's a man with a mission!  http://oneadayuntilthedayidie.com/  




12:30pm - Lycanthia Wolfhunter
Always the student and seeker of wisdom, Lycanthia plans to share some Sufi and Buddhist teaching stories, a departure from what we typically hear from Lyca. What you learn or take away from these tales is up to you. Mostly though, she hopes they will bring a smile to your face.




*Break*

1:30pm - Luna Branwen
SL poet Luna can most frequently be found at Circe's New Poet's Sanctuary, DNA Art and Music Fusion, and also at Sounds of Poems on Cookie. She has also appeared at CeSoir, Book Island, and reads at open mics weekly. She reads at Bhelanna's Cold Shot Play group, and at the Baha'i Society of SL.  Recently she has put together a selection of original poems written for, about, or inspired by Second Life.  She will share a selection of these works with the StoryFest audience today.

2:00pm - Corwyn Allen
Corwyn Allen has been involved with spoken and written word events since 2007 and has appeared at Seanchai Library and past StoryFest events. He is a published poet in RL, and he is also currently the Managing Director of Avatar Repertory Theater. Hewill be reading Irish stories from those collected (but not written by W. B. Yeats. They are Seanchan the Bard and the King of the Cats by Lady Wilde, the poem The Fairies by William Allingham, Frank Martin and The Fairies by William Carleton, and The Legend of O'Donoghue by T. Crofton Croker.


2:30pm - Caledonia Skytower
Caledonia has shared over 500 hours of good stories and great literature on the SL grid since 2008.  In addition to being the Library Lead at Seanchai Library, and the owner of Stories Unlimited!, she is also a company member of Avatar Repertory Theater and a self-published author in RL.  Today she gives a nod to the 2014 World Storytelling Day theme of "Monsters and Dragons" with a selection from Cressida Cowell's How to Train Your Dragon.




3:00pm - BigRed Coyote
BigRed shares Ernest Thompson Seton's Banertails fight with the Black Demon: In the nut forests of America, practically every tree was planted by the Graysquirrel, or its kin. "Do not drink at the pond" is a Squirrel maxim, for in it lurks the fearful Snapping Turtle and the grinning Pike. Its banks are muddy, too, and the water warm. It is better to drink from some low log, along the brook itself. And do not drink in the blinding sunlight, which makes it hard to see if danger is near; then, too, it is that the Blacksnake crawls out to seek some basking place in the hottest sun.This is the story of a young squirrel who did not heed the warning of it parents and the events that followed


3:30pm - Kaikilani
Native Hawaiian Lani shares stories rich in the traditions and heritage of her native land and people.  Today (March 23rd) is her sister's birthday, and she celebrates it by presenting some famous  Hawaiian legends about sisters ... and if there is time, an extra story or two. Aloha!





4:00pm - Singh Albatros
Singh shares a selection from his verse novel in progress - Foreign Madam and the White Yogi: a getting of wisdom love story that travels from India and Australia and back via  Singapore, Detroit, Chichester (England) and Paris.  The bulk of story is however set in India and is itself an epic journey into contemporary India society and culture that also references the The Mahabharata, the longest poem in the world.  Singh's extensive background in music and theater are reflected in the unique soundscapes he creates to accompany the reading of his work. Don't miss this treat!

Wednesday, March 19, 2014

COMING SUNDAY - March 23rd!

Another year of a great collection of stories and presenters coming together to present six hours of great adventures!  StoryFest 2014 is free, with donations going to benefit War Child North America, and is presented in a partnership between Branwen Arts, Stories Unlimited! and Seanchai Library.

Here are some of the tellers of tales you will hear, beginning at 11am SLT on Sunday:


All Times SLT ~ Schedule subject to change without notice, sometimes even to those organizing!

11:00am - Dubhna Rhiadra
11:30am - Shandon Loring
Noon - Crap Mariner
12:30pm - Lycanthia Wolfhunter

*break*

1:30pm - Luna Branwen
2:00pm - Corwyn Allen
2:30pm - Caledonia Skytower
3:00pm - BigRed Coyote
3:30pm - Kaikilani
4:00pm - Singh Albatros


Check back for more information on schedule and stories as we get closer to Sunday.

Sunday, February 23, 2014

Call for Performers - STORYFEST '14

HOT DIGGETY!  Welcome to the fourth annual StoryFest Celebration. Who would have ever thought that we would have made it to FOUR?  This was the StoryFest Event that started them all!

WHAT IS IT?
"StoryFest" is a partnership between the Branwen Arts Coop, Seanchai Library, and the Stories Unlimited!, Produced by StoryFest Events.  Our goal is to present a day of stories presented in a variety of live performance forms:  Traditional Telling, Literature, Theatre, Dance etc. 

WHEN & WHERE?
Sunday, March 23rd at “Here Be Pictsies!” in Bran - 10am to 5pm. 

Presentation slots will be available in 30 minute increments with a very few 60 minute slots potentially available.  Multiple performers can share a single slot (please specify which when waving your hand at us and saying "Me! Me please!")

WHO IS INVITED TO PRESENT?
Anyone who is currently presenting stories in Second Life in any manner that is a live performance.  Presentations should fit within 30 minute slots, and be presentable in live Voice.  Some limited performance slots for more elaborate, or longer presentations are possible.  No stream will be available for individual performers. 

INTERESTED? . . . PERFORMERS AND VOLUNTEER HOSTS NEEDED
Contact Caledonia Skytower or Dubhna Rhiadra via notecard by the end of the virtual day on March 12th.  Please be sure to include the length of slot you are interested in, some reference to what and where you currently present on the grid, what you intend to present at StoryFest, and any technical needs you might hope for (prims needed etc.). PLEASE NOTE AGAIN: No Stream will be available for individual presenters.

The StoryFest performances will be confirmed by March 18th, and a schedule published at that time.

The organizers reserve the right to review the performers submitting and accept those performances & performers that they feel best fit the goals of the festival.

NOTE: World Storytelling Day, which celebrates Traditionally Told Tales, will be the previous week on March 20th around the world, with this year's theme of "Monsters and Dragons."  Performers are welcome to present at StoryFest from that theme, but should not be limited by that. Questions?  See Dubhna or Cale.  Notecards are best, as we both often get messages capped cause we are just friendly folk!