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"Stories 'Round The Fire" Comes To An End |
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Written by Kirk Henning
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Sunday, 13 June 2010 00:21 |
Sadly, "Stories 'Round The Fire", our annual series of summer storytelling performances at Cayucos Beach, has come to an end after 16 years. We chose to end the series because the San Luis Obispo County Parks Department, which manages Cayucos Beach on behalf of the state and which has issued our permits each year, decided not to continue carrying the liability for the event after reviewing existing policy. Given the options presented to us by the county, we decided that continuing the event would be prohibitive for us, either in terms of cost or quality or both. We have no quarrel with the County regarding their decision, it is their prerogative (though I do have an opinion on how it was handled, enough said). But this story is not about that. Instead, I would like to share some of the unique experiences my family has had in producing this event.
To give a little background, "Stories 'Round The Fire" was my wife's idea when we were looking for ways to expand the storytelling horizons in the county. It was an event that was simple in concept, but long in success in terms of storytelling events. On selected Saturday nights during the summer, I built a fire on the beach, then I told stories and sang songs along with other guest storytellers and musicians. After each of the performances, we had a marshmallow roast and people would hang around the fire and continue swapping stories, catching up with friends, meeting new friends, enjoying the beach, and having fun. In the first year, we drew approximately 20 to 25 people for each of the performances. But word quickly grew, and in subsequent years, we regularly drew an average of 80 to 100 people for each of the performances, which is considered quite an accomplishment in the storytelling world. As best we can figure, the 16 summers included about 145 performances providing family entertainment for a total of about 11,000 people.
As one would imagine, we had our share of surprises over the years. For example, one of our regulars for several years was a man who I'll call Tom. Tom appeared to be of lower income who spent a lot of time hanging around the pier at Cayucos Beach. A tall, burly redhead, Tom would always come up to me after each of the performances he attended, firmly shake my hand, and profusely thank me and my wife for putting on "Stories 'Round The Fire".
One night several years ago, Tom came up to me, thanked me as usual, then said, "Hey, did you notice that movie star that came tonight?" I was skeptical because although Tom couldn't be a nicer man, I came to notice that his thoughts weren't always easy to follow. "Movie star", I asked, "there was a movie star?" "Yeah," he said, "I thought I recognized him, so I went up to him and asked him if he was that movie star, and he said he was." "Well who was it Tom?" "Well, now I can't remember his name, but he definitely said that he was him". Now I was curious, so later in the evening while we were packing up, I mentioned this to my wife, and upon hearing it, her eyes widened and she said, "I thought I recognized that guy." "Which guy?", I asked. "Well, I kept on staring at this man all night because I thought I recognized him from somewhere and then it came to me, he looked exactly like George Clooney!" (This was before Mr. Clooney was the megastar that he is today). Immediately, the image of a man I took notice of during the night flashed in my head. I noticed him earlier roasting marshmallows with a couple of kids and I thought he looked familiar, and then my image matched up as soon as my wife said "George Clooney". The next day, I put my best internet searching skills to test and found a vague reference that his sister may have lived in the area with her two children. So we are at least 75 percent sure that George Clooney came to "Stories 'Round The Fire" (and the other 25 percent would like to think so). Not that I inwardly gush in the presence of celebrities, I have had a few among my audiences at some of my "higher end" gigs. However, it seems that among those of the female persuasion, Mr. Clooney is a different animal altogether because every time I tell this story to women, I can practically hear most if not all of their hearts flutter upon the mention of his name.
Then there was the time several years ago when my mouth got ahead of my brain causing my most embarrassing moment in "Stories 'Round The Fire" history. It goes without saying that "Stories 'Round The Fire" was a decidedly family event and accordingly, this particular night I was telling a Brer Rabbit story. I came to the point in the story when I described how Brer Rabbit found himself in the middle of a peanut patch, but instead of saying the word "peanut", my uncooperative mouth uttered a word that sounds very similar and refers to a certain part of the male anatomy. So instead of Brer Rabbit finding himself in the middle of a peanut patch, he now found himself in the middle of a, (you can probably guess) patch. My brain did not register what my mouth had said until I noticed that my audience was snickering for no apparent reason and every person within earshot on the beach turned and laughed. Clearly, the trickster Brer Rabbit was not only up to his usual shenanigans within the confines of the story, he was playing tricks on the storyteller as well.
One of the most beautiful moments came last year when Chumash storyteller Dennis Garcia came up from Southern California to share some of his stories. We had a kind of tropical rain that day, and that night some of the clouds remained overhead. Dennis began telling the well known "Rainbow Bridge" story, a beautiful story of how the Chumash living on Santa Cruz Island were crossing to the mainland over a rainbow bridge, and how some of the people fell off the bridge and turned into dolphins before landing in the sea. When Dennis came to the part of the story describing the bridge, a bright and beautiful rainbow formed in the sky behind him. After he told the story, the rainbow disappeared and the sky turned dark with clouds again. Then Dennis told a story of how the sun was stolen and the world remained in darkness until Hawk retrieved the sun and brought it back by carrying it on his tail, which scorched his tail and turned it the red color it is today. Of course when Dennis came to the point when Hawk came flying back with the sun on his tail, beams of sunlight came shooting through the clouds and cascaded down to the water. After sharing his stories, I jokingly complained to Dennis that his kind of storytelling was not fair to storytellers like me.
If I had to pick the most valuable lesson I have learned from telling stories at "Stories 'Round The Fire" as well as all my other performances, it is this: stories and storytelling, in whichever form, is the great equalizer among people. I have found that if I choose a good story and tell it decently, then I can have an audience that includes, for instance, both George Clooney and "Tom", two people that are seemingly at opposite ends of the success spectrum, and they both enjoy the story equally as well. I have told stories in every possible situation, from prisons to resorts, and each time I witness the same affect, everyone enjoys hearing a good story well told. Stories are what bind us together as humans, they are what distinguish us among our fellow animals. And if we take the time to listen, really listen to each others stories, we will come to understand each other more which can only be for the good.
We are so grateful to the "Stories 'Round The Fire" fans we have had over the years, and we cannot thank our guest artists enough for sharing their talents as well, especially our regulars including Dean Thompson, Steve Crouch, Alan Salazar, and many others. We will take all the joy and thanks we have received from "Stories 'Round The Fire" and channel them into other pursuits, but there is no question that the event and all the friends we have gained because of it, will always hold a special place in our hearts. If would like to share your own memories of "Stories 'Round The Fire", feel free to leave a comment below.
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Last Updated on Monday, 14 June 2010 19:21 |
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Left Coast Bus - Book Covers |
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Written by Kirk Henning
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Wednesday, 13 May 2009 05:19 |
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Never judge a book by it's cover is in the top five of the cliche's I most use, I'm sure. One of my favorite stories is about two warriors who were in a brutal clash, a hand to hand battle that started early in the morning and extended through the entire day until finally, when the evening fell and both warriors spent every last shred of their energy, they agreed to stop fighting so they could rest enough to pick up the battle anew the next morning. Thoroughly exhausted, both warriors flopped to the ground, on their backs lying side by side, looking up at the stars.
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Last Updated on Sunday, 13 June 2010 00:44 |
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Written by Kirk Henning
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Sunday, 26 April 2009 14:45 |
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About a year ago, I lost a precious friend, my Nissan Quest minivan. I was returning from a gig late at night, and the Quest hit a deer head on. I consider it a murder/suicide, for the deer killed my van, then killed itself. My minivan provided me with 325,000 miles of glorious utility by assuming a multitude of roles, kid transport, covered pickup truck, audio book listening booth, and more. I am still grieving the loss. But as with all losses, valuable opportunities present themselves. In my case, it was the opportunity to become somewhat of a traveler in my own land, an opportunity that grew out of the decision we made to not replace the Quest with another vehicle. Since then, my transportation needs have been accomplished by taking the car sometimes, carpooling, walking, biking, and, taking the bus.
This is where the traveler in my own land part comes in, because taking the bus necessarily takes you out of the comfort bubble of your vehicle, and puts you in a more exposed world, where there is unpredictability, risk, fear, comfort, and in the end, fulfillment. Yesterday's bus ride served as a metaphor for what I mean.
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Last Updated on Sunday, 13 June 2010 00:46 |
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