Heroines Journey storytelling workshop with Kate Farrell!
January 6, 2024: CREATE YOUR ADVENTURE STORY
As we journey along well-worn tourist paths or to far flung destinations, we are eyewitnesses. If we gather not only photos and mementos, but chronicle our adventures with well-told stories, we can entertain our listeners.
February 3rd: CREATE YOUR CHILDHOOD STORY
The years of early childhood, the first flickers of memory, are precious. Where did it all start? To get a sense of yourself and your own life story, take some time to reflect.
March 2nd: CREATE YOUR STORY OF CHALLENGE
Life offers many challenges—not all are the same size or type. Whatever a particular challenge meant to you, you faced it down, and became the wiser.
March 30th: CREATE YOUR DEFINING STORY
Defining stories are at the heart of self-discovery. They have the power to express our unique identity to others. Circumstances bring out the best and worst in us, but more importantly, they expose our true nature.
April 27th: CREATE YOUR FAMILY FOLKLORE
Family stories matter. They directly impact how we see ourselves because they give us an idea of where we come from and where we’re going.
May 18th: STORYTELLING SHOWCASE
Enjoy the talent and amazing stories of the workshop storytellers! Each teller will have five minutes to share his or her favorite story created in the West Portal series.
Effects Of Pickled Herring book signing with Alex Schumacher!
About this Event
Event Location
Celebrate A Mom You Miss with Sherry Belul
On Hallmark holidays like Mothers Day, we need connection. Many people are missing moms who live far away or who have passed away. We may also be missing children who have moved away or passed away.
Writing can be a way to help us connect to our hearts and to the people we love. It can be a medicine for loneliness, disappointment, or grief.
As part of Sherry's "Say It Now" work, she hosts workshops in which she leads people through a simple, but profound, writing process of creating what she calls a LOVE LIST.
A LOVE LIST is a brainstorm of all the reasons you love someone and what makes them unique. A LOVE LIST is sweet funny or serious. It can include any number — from five to fifteen to fifty — of loving attributes characteristics or memories about someone and what they mean to you.
During this workshop, Sherry will lead you through prompts and questions to help you easily and joyfully create a LOVE LIST gift for someone in your life — whether they have moved far away or have passed away.
One of the best things about the LOVE LIST is it doesn’t cost any money to create. Also, it makes a beautiful long-distance gift if the person you miss is far away. It also makes a great gift for someone else who is grieving the loss of someone who has died.
Creating a LOVE LIST is a gentle, sweet process that will connect you to the spirit of the person you love. And to your own heart.
Mitzi Szereto in person at Indigo Langley (Vancouver BC)
Mitzi Szereto will be signing copies of her new book Women Who Murder: An International Collection of Deadly True Crime Tales at Indigo Langley in Greater Vancouver BC. She will joined by her Vancouver-based contributor Mike Browne (host of the Canadian true crime podcast Dark Poutine).
Weaving Community Through Storytelling with Kate Farrell
Unlock the power of your story in this multi-session workshop with Kate Farrell! Hosted onsite at Mechanics' Institute, our workshop is more than just a learning experience—it's a journey towards discovering your unique storytelling style, whether for personal enjoyment or professional enhancement. This multi-session storytelling workshop is limited to 25 people, and the ticket price includes a copy of Story Power: Secrets to Creating, Crafting, and Telling Memorable Stories.
Course Schedule (5 workshop sessions on Wednesday evenings + optional performance at a culminating Storytelling Showcase at Mechanics' Institute)
- May 8, 6:00-8:00 pm
- May 15, 6:00-8:00 pm
- May 22, 6:00-8:00 pm
- June 5, 6:00-8:00 pm
- June 12, 6:00-8:00 pm
- June 26, 6:00-8:00 pm - Culminating Storytelling Showcase
About the Instructor
Kate Farrell, MLS, is a graduate of the School of Library and Information Studies, UC Berkeley. She has been a language arts classroom teacher (pre-school and grades kindergarten through 12th), author, librarian, university lecturer, and storyteller in Northern California since 1966. She founded the Word Weaving storytelling project, funded by grants from Zellerbach Family Fund, San Francisco, 1979-1991. As consultant to the California Department of Education, Farrell conducted Word Weaving staff development trainings and developed statewide language arts curriculum. More recently, Kate has contributed to and edited award-winning anthologies of personal narrative. Kate’s award-winning book, Story Power: Secrets to Creating, Crafting, and Telling Memorable Stories, is a timely, how-to guide on the art of storytelling for adults. In 2023, Kate founded Woven: Telling the Heroine’s Journey to share the ancient tales of the feminine quest and learn their modern meanings from archetypes in fairy tales and myths, long suppressed.
What You Will Learn
Our interactive workshop series is designed to introduce you to the fundamentals of storytelling through a mix of step-by-step coaching and peer coaching. Here's what you can expect:
- Seven Steps to Effective Storytelling
- Storyboard Techniques
- Crafting Personal Narratives
- Practice in Small Groups
- Directed Peer Coaching
- Delivery and Performance Skills
Join us at the Mechanics' Institute for a journey into the heart of storytelling. Together, let's unlock the stories within us and share them with the world.
Additional Information
Mechanics' Institute offers both member and non-member registration options for this multi-session storytelling workshop. To join as a member to access the member pricing for this seminar, please join here.
For questions about registration, contact programs@milibrary.org or 415-393-0103.
Cancellation policy:
For each workshop, we reserve the right to cancel at any time and issue a full refund. If you are unable to attend the seminar, please email programs@milibrary.org or call 415-393-0103 by Wednesday, May 1, 2024, to receive a full refund less any non-refundable ticketing fees which may be applicable. All fees must be paid at the time of registration. After Wednesday, May 1, 2024 no refunds will be issued.
Lynda Monk book talk and signing
oin author Lynda Monk for a signing of her new book Affirmations for Self-Love May 11th from 12:00-3:00.
About the book: In these difficult times, nothing is more important than self-love. A job may come and go, a relationship may end, something new and troublesome may occur in the world, and through all that flux we can maintain our emotional health if we remember to love ourselves and apply abundant self-compassion. If we don’t matter to ourselves, how can we matter at all?
In Affirmations for Self-Love Lynda Monk and Eric Maisel explore the intricacies of self-love. With decades of experience between them in the helping and healing professions, Monk and Maisel bring their personal warmth and their deep understanding of what actually helps and heals.
Richard Weylman in person at Barnes & Noble
In Store | Saturday, May 11, 2024 1:00 PM ET
Special Event
Local Author Richard Weylman
About this Event
Event Location
Dianette Wells in person at Barnes & Noble
About this Event
Join us in welcoming author and athlete Dianette Wells for a signing of her book Another Step Up the Mountain!
Dianette will be in store signing copies for a few hours starting at 7pm on the second floor balcony!
This event is free to attend and open to everyone.
See you there!
Climbing over adversity. In her groundbreaking memoir, Another Step Up the Mountain, Dianette tells of her unique experiences climbing the Seven Summits, participating in adventure races (including four Eco-Challenges and ultra marathons around the world), as she raised three wonderful children. Trying to survive a tumultuous marriage, Dianette felt empty and unhappy. However, everything changed when she discovered adventure racing. Full of beautiful and uplifting moments, Dianette’s story will inspire you to discover the meaning of joy in your own healing journey.
Grief recovery and restoration with every step of the way. In 2015, Dianette lost her son Johnny to a wingsuiting accident, driving her to withdraw into severe depression. However, with the support of those around her, Dianette’s desire to compete in endurance sports and her love of mountain climbing helped her find an inner strength to begin healing. As she had in the past, she faced adversity and found her inner power by embracing her devotion to sports and family. Full of beautiful and uplifting moments, Dianette’s story will inspire you to rediscover what joy means to you and how we must cherish our intrinsic abilities.
Dianette Wells in person reading at Dolly's Books
A True Story of Triumph Over Adversity and the Loss of a Child
In this gripping memoir, learn the true story of how mountaineering and extreme sports enthusiast Dianette Wells endures the devastating loss of her son and learns to balance motherhood with a life of extreme adventure.
Climbing over adversity. In her groundbreaking memoir, Another Step Up the Mountain, Dianette tells of her unique experiences climbing the Seven Summits, participating in adventure races (including four Eco-Challenges and ultra marathons around the world), as she raised three wonderful children. Trying to survive a tumultuous marriage, Dianette felt empty and unhappy. However, everything changed when she discovered adventure racing. Full of beautiful and uplifting moments, Dianette's story will inspire you to discover the meaning of joy in your own healing journey.
About the Author:
Dianette Wells is an elite member of the fewer than four hundred individuals who have climbed each of the Seven Summits, including: Kilimanjaro, Vinson, Elbrus, Denali, Everest, Aconcagua, and Carstensz Pyramid. She has participated in four Eco-Challenges, raced one hundred fifty plus miles across various desserts, biked across America and adventure raced around the globe.
She is the proud mother of three and continues to climb and race and just finished her 20th home remodel. She lives in Park City, Utah.
Follow Dianette's exiting adventures at DianetteWells.com and through social media or email her at: DianetteAuthor@aol.com.
Mitzi Szereto in person at Barnes & Noble
We are excited to welcome author Mitzi Szereto into our store to sign her new release, Women Who Murder.
Unearth the disturbing histories of notorious women. From the chilling accounts of infamous black widow murders to the spine-tingling narratives of women who shocked the world with their sinister deeds, this anthology delves deep into the minds of these deadly women. Spanning eras and continents, these tales of true crime offer a chilling exploration of the darkest corners of human nature.