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

Lori Yates is true country in a Johnny Cash “middle finger” kind of way, the cowgirl singing her heart out in the punk clubs. Enigmatic, rebellious and hard to pin down, veteran singer/songwriter Yates has been called “alt-country” long before the phrase existed. She is considered by many as
one of the pioneers of alt-country in Canada, having gotten her start in the Queen St. west scene that saw rise to: Blue Rodeo, Cowboy Junkies etc. She has won awards (Hamilton Music Awards – songwriter and alt-country recording of the year), and nominations (Juno, Canadian Country Music award). Lori has 6 cd’s to her credit. She’s been with the major labels, and with the indies. She’s had peaks and valleys in her career but what defines her most is her total unwavering commitment to her craft, to keep learning and evolving. She is a veteran live performer, singer/songwriter who has always been surrounded by the best musicians, and has devoted a lifetime to her music. Lori is also gaining a solid reputation as a successful promoter/host for her sold out shows; “Johnny Cash – the Original Punk”, and “Your Good Girls Gonna Go Bad”. Lori is widely known for being: funny, honest, having a gorgeous voice and killer songs. She is also the creator of the new & wildly popular Creative Genius Songwriting Workshops. http://www.loriyates.com

Join us tonight at the Christ’s Church Cathedral, to hear Lori and others tell true stories from their own lives, live without notes! Doors open at 7!

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

A graduate of political science and legal studies from Acadia University with an Executive Education in Governance for Non Profits from Harvard Business School. Matthew is a proud past Board member of the Hamilton Community Foundation, a Co-Chair of a local non-profit Empowerment Squared. He is a passionate social justice advocate and community organizer having spent the past 8 years in working in health, wellness and justice on issues ranging from the integration of new Canadians, renters rights, senior recreation and most recently the opposition of Downtown Hamilton Casino. Currently Matthew Green is a registered candidate for Ward 3 City Councillor.

Join us tonight! at the Christ’s Church Cathedral, to hear Matthew and others tell true stories from their own lives, live without notes! Doors open at 7!

Our next event is just around the corner! Countdown’s on!

Besides the five fabulous previously-announced speakers, we’ve added another storyteller to Saturday’s event: Mary Love has been telling tales since she came home from kindergarten, put her stuffed toys in a circle, and told them what happened that day! A regular at the Hamilton Storytelling Circle and member of the Brant Taletellers Guild, Mary is also a writer and works part-time at McMaster.

Tickets are sale online (here!) until Saturday at noon, and we’ll have some available at the door as well. We’ll also have out cute ‘lil Steel City Stories buttons and will be revealing our brand new bookmarks! SCS alumni Lisa Pijuan-Nomura, SCS alumni and the mastermind behind SPEAK!, will be there to spread the word about her upcoming events, and as always Red Hill Coffee will be keeping us warm with their tasty drinks. And all in support of Christ Church’s Meal Ticket Program…it’s gonna be great! See you Saturday!

Get to know your storyteller! Leading up to our event on Saturday, we’ll be bringing you brief bios of our speakers. Here’s Klyde!

Klyde Broox is an award winning Jamaican born dubpoet, informal scholar, author and literary
activist, with a growing international reputation. Broox has earned the 1979 Nathan Brissett Poetry Prize in Jamaica, a 1992 James Michener Fellowship, from the University of Miami, in to United States; the 2005 City of Hamilton Arts Award for Literature and the 2011 Rev. John. C. Holland Award for Arts Achievement, in Canada. He has published two volumes of poetry, Poemstorm, (Swansea, Wales, 1989) and the award-wining, My Best Friend is White, (McGilligan Books, 2005).
Migrating to Canada in 1993; Broox emerged as one of its foremost practitioners of dubpoetry, and was a core member of Toronto’s now inactive Dub Poets Collective. In 2007, Klyde coordinated an international dubpoetry festival in his hometown Hamilton, where, since 1997, he has hosted a monthly performance oriented open-stage series, PoeMagic. Klyde sometimes travels across Canada to perform his poetry, give workshops and deliver guest lectures. Over the decades, he has earned a reputation as “a consummate stage artist who blends speech, song, dance and gesture into a powerful package that is inspirational, entertaining and intellectually provocative.” Klyde usually invites audiences and workshop participants to experience poetry as social communion.

Join us this Saturday, February 1st, at the Christ’s Church Cathedral, to hear Klyde and others tell true stories from their own lives, live without notes! You can reserve your tickets online here!

Have you heard? A portion of the proceeds from our next event, coming up on February 1st, will be going towards Christ Church Cathedral’s Meal Ticket Program!

Each Tuesday, the Church opens its doors to the Hamilton community, offering coffee, cookies and fruit…and a hot meal. Visitors drop by the church for some company, refreshments, information on community services and a voucher for a free, hot meal at the Salvation Army. Over 11,000 vouchers were given out in 2013 but the need is greater still. By attending Steel City Stories in February, our guests will also be assisting the Church in covering the costs of their meal ticket program in an effort to extend their services to even more members of the Hamilton community.

For more information on, or to reserve your ticket to, our upcoming event, “Roots”, on Saturday, February 1st, check out our Upcoming Events & Tickets page!

Get to know your storyteller! Leading up to our event on February 1st, we’ll be bringing you brief bios of our speakers. Here’s Anne!

Anne Cumby is co-owner of The Cannon, a specialty café that takes great pride in fostering a welcoming and intimate community in the Ottawa St. neighbourhood. Since 2011, Anne and her business partner Cindy Stout have worked aggressively to build a strong reputation as savvy entrepreneurs and professional baristas. Together with other coffee proprietors here in Hamilton, as well as in Dundas and Toronto, Anne is focused on raising the bar and establishing Southern Ontario as a destination for amazing coffee. In 2013, she acted as technical judge at the Canadian Barista Competition Finals in Vancouver. A devoted wife and mum, Anne likes storytelling, clever puns, video games, and remembering middle names. Follow Anne and The Cannon on Twitter: @cannoncoffeeco.

Join us, February 1st, at the Christ’s Church Cathedral, to hear Anne and others tell true stories from their own lives, live without notes! You can reserve your tickets online here!

Get to know your storyteller! Leading up to our event on February 1st, we’ll be bringing you brief bios of our speakers. Here’s Joey!

Joey Coleman is Canada’s first crowdfunded local journalist. Formerly employed with Maclean’s and The Globe and Mail, Joey decided to leave national reporting to pursue an attempt at creating a sustainable model for online high-quality local journalism. What drives his passion for journalism and Hamilton? His roots, which he will speak about.

Join us, February 1st, at the Christ’s Church Cathedral, to hear Joey and others tell true stories from their own lives, live without notes! You can reserve your tickets online here!