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

Kevin Makins is a pastor, storyteller, and good0things schemer who lives, loves, plays and prays in downtown Hamilton. He’s regularly a catalyst for local projects, ranging from art installations and conferences to church startups and the Yes We Cannon campaign. You can learn more at kevinmakins.com or follow along with his hijinks at facebook.com/kevinmakins.

Join us at the First Unitarian Church on July 5th to hear Kevin 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 next event, Turning Point, on July 5th, we’re bringing you brief bios of our speakers. Here’s Anne!

Anne is a former teaching assistant in the University of Poitiers law school (France), specializing in criminal and humanitarian law. She decided to take a break in her research on children and armed conflict to take care of her three girls. She identifies herself as an “in-between” after being raised between French and Congolese traditions in France, and living today between French and Canadian cultures. More a bedtime storyteller than a live storyteller, she still grew up under a palaver tree.

Join us at the First Unitarian Church on July 5th to hear Anne 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 next event, happening on July 5th, we’re bringing you brief bios of our speakers. Here’s Maha!

Maha Hossein has lived in Syria, Germany, Kuwait and Canada. She is an Agricultural Engineer and graduated as an Interpreter from Mohawk College only two years after she landed in Canada. Maha is involved with the Immigrant Women’s Centre in Hamilton and believes that learning new languages is important for immigrants, not only so they can be understood and play an active role in their newly adopted society, but also so that they can communicate their unique perspectives and experiences for the benefit of others.

Join us at the First Unitarian Church on July 5th to hear Maha 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 next event, coming up on July 5th, we’re bringing you brief bios of our speakers. Here’s Chris!

Chris Erl is a born and raised Hamiltonian pursuing a Master of Planning degree at Ryerson University. In addition to being a McMaster alum and candidate for Public School Trustee in Wards 1 and 2, Chris has served as the past chair of the Hamilton Pride Organizing Committee, a community organizer with Participatory Budgeting Ward Two and an executive board member with the McMaster Student Union. He lives in Strathcona with his better half, James, and his awesome roommate Parisa.

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

 

We’re just under a month out from our next event, Turning Point, happening on July 5th, and our new posters are hot off the presses! We encourage you to save your seat in advance – tickets are available through our Upcoming Events and Tickets page. Stay tuned in the coming weeks as we introduce our speakers in preparation for what’s sure to be another great evening of storytelling!

Hi Hamilton!

If you’ve been scoping out our website recently, you may have noticed a new feature: slowly but surely, we’ve been adding podcasts of our live events to our Event Archive page! If you missed an event, are curious about what we’re about, or want to hear a favourite story again, be sure to take a listen! Check back regularly, as more podcasts are on their way…

We’re gearing up for our next event, Turning Point, happening on July 5th at the First Unitarian Church. We’re looking forward to another round of stories from these fine Hamiltonians:

Chris Erl, Urban Planning Student
Maha Hossein, Agricultural Engineer
Jean Ryan, Professional Storyteller
Anne Kalonji, Old Fashioned Maman
Greg Tedesco, Social Justice Advocate
Kevin Makins, Pastor & Storyteller

Tickets are already available online – check out out our Upcoming Events & Tickets page to reserve yours!

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.