We weren’t thinking about the transitional nature of this time of year when we chose the evening’s theme, but Saturday’s stories and their wide range of experiences and reflections relating to “arrivals and departures” seemed especially fitting for an early-spring evening…

The inimitable John Terpstra (in a chicken tie to boot!), hosted the evening at First Unitarian Church.

Renée Wetselaar was first up, with a story describing how joining the military (on a dare!) marked the departure of her youth.

Zak McDonald’s story wove together two trips he’s embarked on in two different periods of his life.

Graham Crawford recounted several of his arrivals and departures to and from Hamilton, and the closet, over the past 50 years.

Rochelle Martin shared a childhood experience – observing a stranger dying in the street – that has shaped her interest in death and community-building.

John A. McCurdy’s story included a range of arrivals and departures as he reflected on his experience with Hodgkin’s Disease.

Suzanne Burchell wrapped up the evening with her story of an ill-fated quest for popularity after moving to Hamilton from Nova Scotia as a young girl. Thank you, Hamilton, for yet another successful Steel City Stories! We’re so happy to have your support! We also have to thank our friends and graphic-design-mavericks, Chris White and Ariane Klassen, for donating their time and talent to Steel City Stories (see more of their work here!), and to Dan Jelly for capturing these moments from Saturday’s event – check out his website here. We’ll be back in July with “Turning Point”. If you’re interested in sharing your story or getting involved in planning future events, drop us a line!

Get to know your storyteller! Leading up to our event tomorrow we’re bringing you brief bios of our speakers. Here’s John!

John is a Personal, Family, Organization and Community Historian and the owner and proprietor of Hamilton-based Vintage Histories and Stories. John launched a volunteer Personal History project in 2000 that operated for three years. After completing his graduate studies in 2006, John worked for three years as legal history Research Associate and Research Assistant. He self-published a biographical and cultural study of the early life and work of Canadian singer-songwriter Bruce Cockburn in 2010 and is currently expanding it into a comprehensive study of Cockburn’s life and work. In 2013, John founded Vintage Histories and Stories, which specializes in providing personal, family, organization and community history services.

http://www.vintagehistoriesandstories.ca

https://www.facebook.com/vintagehistoriesandstories

Join us tomorrow, April 5th, at the First Unitarian Church to hear John and others tell true stories from their own lives, live without notes! Doors open at 7. Advance tickets available online (here!).

Get to know your storyteller! Leading up to our event on Saturday we’re bringing you brief bios of our speakers. Here’s Renée!

Renée is a visual artist, performer and two-time graduate of McMaster University. Previously the executive director at the Workers Arts and Heritage Centre, Renée is now a Senior Social Planner at the Social Planning and Research Council of Hamilton. Besides the Board of Directors of Wellwood, a local cancer resource centre, Renée also volunteers her time with the City of Hamilton’s LGBTQ Advisory Committee. She lives in Hamilton with her partner Deirdre Pike and is the mother of a twenty-something son. Renée was awarded with the Queens Golden Jubilee medal in 2003 and Woman of the Year in the Arts for Hamilton in 2004.

Join us this Saturday, April 5th, at the First Unitarian Church to hear Renée and others tell true stories from their own lives, live without notes! Doors open at 7. Advance tickets available online (here!) or at The Cannon.

 

Get to know your storyteller! Leading up to our event on April 5th we’re bringing you brief bios of our speakers. Here’s Zak!

Zak McDonald is a stand up comedian, actor, provocateur, wordsmith, and modern day genius. He is also a man who refuses to write his own bio’s. Zak has been traveling the country with his unique, honest, heartfelt and uplifting form of comedy for the last three years. He has been part of The Brantford Comedy festival, performed at The Lincoln Alexander Centre, and co-wrote and starred in the short film “The Store” for which he was nominated for best actor at The Hamilton Film Festival. He aims to continue to travel the world and push boundaries as a performer.

Join us on April 5th at the First Unitarian Church to hear Zak and others tell true stories from their own lives, live without notes! Doors open at 7. Advance Tickets available online (here!) or at The Cannon.

Get to know your storyteller! Leading up to our event on April 5th we’re bringing you brief bios of our speakers. Here’s Suzanne!

Suzanne is an instructor in Drama in Education at Brock University. She is retired from teaching drama for 38 years in secondary school. Her roots of storytelling are from her hometown of Parrsboro, Nova Scotia on the Bay of Fundy, where story telling is a natural ‘way’ for many in daily life. She was a founder of the Parrsboro storytellers group. Currently she belongs to the Hamilton Storytelling Circle. Recently, writing short stories to tell has become a part of her repertoire as well.

Join us on April 5th at the First Unitarian Church to hear Suzanne and others tell true stories from their own lives, live without notes! Doors open at 7. Advance tickets available online (here!) or at The Cannon.

Check out the beautiful new poster for our upcoming event – another gem from Chris White and Ariane Klassen, the dynamic design duo behind Steel City Stories’ posters and buttons. Like what you see? Take a look at more of their work here!

Tickets are going fast for “Arrivals and Departures,” happening on April 5th at the First Unitarian Church. Tickets are available online (see our Upcoming Events & Tickets page) or in-person at The Cannon, located at 179 Ottawa Street North. See you in two weeks!

Get to know your storyteller! Leading up to our event on April 5th we’re bringing you brief bios of our speakers. Here’s Rochelle!

In her role as emergency crisis and mental health RN at Brantford General, Rochelle supports families experiencing the sudden death of a loved one in ER. She also volunteers her time as a death midwife, teaching groups and helping families to care for loved ones during and after death, in meaningful and environmentally sustainable ways. Though she works in Brantford, Rochelle loves living in downtown Hamilton with her partner Ron and three kids. She helped organize the No Downtown Hamilton CasiNO! effort, serves on the board of the Central Neighbourhood Association, and is one of Supercrawl’s biggest fans!

Bringing After-Death Care Back Home

https://www.facebook.com/funeralalternatives.ca

Join us on April 5th at the First Unitarian Church to hear Rochelle and others tell true stories from their own lives, live without notes! Doors open at 7! Advance tickets available here!

Get to know your storyteller! Leading up to our event on April 5th we’re bringing you brief bios of our speakers. Here’s Graham!

Born in England and raised in Hamilton, Graham Crawford spent 25 years in Toronto running a successful management consulting company before he retired in 2005 and moved back to Hamilton. In 2007, Graham purchased a 3-storey building on James North that he turned into Hamilton HIStory + HERitage, Hamilton’s first storefront museum. In its six years of operation, H+H has attracted over 30,000 visitors to its wide-ranging social, architectural, heritage, and photographic exhibitions, all focused on Hamilton. A recipient of the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Silver Medal, Graham continues to contribute to his community through a wide range of volunteer involvement.

Join us on April 5th at the First Unitarian Church to hear Graham and others tell true stories from their own lives, live without notes! Doors open at 7! Advance tickets available here!

Preparations for our next event are in full swing! ‘Arrivals and Departures’ is happening on Saturday, April 5th at the First Unitarian Church at 170 Dundurn Street South!

Hosted by John Terpstra, who shared his captivating story at ‘Brushes With Greatness’ in November, the evening will include stories by:

Suzanne Burchell, Storyteller
Graham Crawford, Hamilton HIStory + HERitage
John A. McCurdy, Local Historian
Zak McDonald, Comedian
Rochelle Martin, Death Midwife
Renée Wetselaar, Artist & Community Advocate

Tickets are on sale now, and available through our Events and Tickets page!

Thanks for another great event, Hamilton! We are so thankful for our determined audience (and storytellers) who braved the elements and joined us at Christ’s Church Cathedral on Saturday night.

 

Jeff Goodes, who told a story of his own at our November event, returned to the Steel City Stories stage to host the evening’s program.

 

Matthew Green started the stories off, weaving together Hamilton’s and his own roots.

 

Anne Cumby was next, telling an intergenerational tale exemplifying how roots can evolve and change direction as they grow…

 

Mary Love took full advantage of the acoustics in the Cathedral, singing a few lines from a Celtic tune as she told us about her relationship with her roots as an adopted child.

 

Lori Yates told us about her musical roots on Queen Street West in Toronto, back in the day…

 

…and Kylde Broox wrapped up the evening with a medley of storytelling and dub poetry.

Thanks to our friend, button-maker and photographer-extraordinaire, Dan Jelly, for these fabulous shots of Saturday’s event (check out his website here)! We also owe a shout-out to our graphic designers, Chris White and Ariane Klassen, to Jason and the crew at Red Hill Coffee, and to the folks at Christ’s Church Cathedral!

We’ll have podcasts of Saturday’s stories up on the website soon, and stay tuned for more information on our next event – Arrivals and Departures – coming up on April 5th!