Welcome From Jeff Gere
Once Upon a Time in the Middle of the Sea, a Story Man had a vision: a Story Camp for families & story nuts to come together, share, swim & eat. He put out a call. Now It’s happening.
UPDATE ON CAMP 2013.
Obviously, with the City’s abrupt cancellation of the use of Kualoa in late April, we’ve scrambled to get a site for Camp. There is still no clear explanation. I remain committed to this wonderful event… AND THE STORYTELLERS ARE COMING! What a talented bouquet of international talents they ARE! We’ll hold the Camp, it will be AWESOME, beautiful, FUN, meaningful, & significant. Please come… who can pass THIS up?
We’ll update this website with schedules & related events.
BACKGROUND: As you may know, I’ve produced & hosted the Talk Story Festival, Hawaii’s largest & oldest storytelling celebration (+ Neighbor Island tours) with the Parks Department each October since 1989. To do this well, the non-profit (501 C3) Alliance for Culture & Arts (ACA) was created to seek & handle money. In 2009, ACA & I produced the ‘‘TALK STORY’ Storytelling Conference in Waikiki. It was a ‘Year of the Regions” event for the National Storytelling Network (NSN, America’s storytelling org). Our local tellers shared tales, culture, history, hula & ritual. Many storytellers from American (mainland) contributed & tellers from Thailand, Japan, Australia, & Canada. It was a wonderful story party to conceive & see to fruition, well executed by a busy dozen locals, an unparalleled showcase for local tellers, an amazing line-up of America’s Storytelling Stars, with great workshops & new friends. And after Waikiki, 20 of us went to Maui for another 4-5 days.
I swore I’d never to do it again.
But in 2011 I pulled the locals and the nationals together with this new ‘vision’: Talk Story Camp. I was thinking of it when Lyn Ford (Ohio) called. Her husband longed for Hawaii, so she gave him a plane ticket for Christmas – they were coming. AH! That’s it! Camp is ON!
TALK STORY CAMP changed what I DID NOT LIKE about the Waikiki Conference- expensive hotel, bad food, grumpy cook, time tightly scheduled, very few locals & NO FAMILIES. I DID LIKE afternoon swims, casual talks, the new & old friendships. My Parks Department did a Hula Camp at Kualoa a decade ago- very intense, but with time to swim & talk, all ages, local families, and late night ghost stories on the beach with lapping waves & the stars.
Sounds good, right? So we did it. About 50 folks came.
It was TOO MUCH WORK!
Again I said, “ENOUGH!”
But after a months to simmer and stew, and with the overwhelming urging of so many of the folks who came to Camp 2011, who promised to help, and by incorporating their ideas, wwwweeeellllll…. we tried it again in 2012. Less workshops, more down time, less ‘mainland’ pitching. ‘If folks come, they’ll be really really glad.’ About double the amount did come (more kids!)
Lyn Ford, Gene Tagaban, and Linda Yemoto all returned again. WOW! My wife Dominique had a better time. We did less work.
And so we are trying it again in 2013. Come or be sorry! Caroline Bond Davis, our kitchen Queen, and President of ACA, has agreed to ‘do kitchen’ again. ALRIGHT! I sent out a note and the amazing artists you find listed on the title page of this website all volunteered to come! There is no way I can pay or repay them for their talents and spirit of giving to this event. I am so humbled and grateful to them, and am working hard to gather a crowd who truly wants to come and to make sure all the details are in place for a wonderful experience.
With ACA’s OK & my wife Dominique’s blessing, here is the TALK STORY CAMP 2013, intending to relax, rejuvenate, & invigorate (storyteller or not), to mix culturally; to play with kids, and to soak in the stunning beauty of Kualoa Camp (a Neighbor Island get-away without a plane trip).
This Camp exists to share life & stories ,
locals & guests- eating, telling, & sharing together!
I invite you. Join this Story Circle.
You’ll be very glad you did.
PRICE:
This Camp is an incredibly affordable. It mainly pays for food. There’s no budget, wasn’t one for the last ones. I want families to afford it & come with kids. Local & (Inter)National Storytellers Stars are all committed (again) for the joy, meals, & sleeping by the sea. It’s sure not for the pay- there is none for these Fabulous Mainland talents. Really! They WANT to come share & learn. Can you believe that?!?? I’m so deeply humbled & inspired by ‘us’. I’ll never have enough to pay what they’re worth, but I have to cover the cost of their meals, right? I am absolutely sure you & your kids will have an unforgettably wonderful weekend… Priceless, really.
CAMPING NOT FOR YOU?
Not too sure of ‘camping’? Come for the day, and leave at night. Talk to me, tell me what you’re thinking, what concerns you. I want to include you if you want to be included.
COME! TALK STORY CAMP!
Hawaii in JULY on the BEACH with STORY! Say YES! Join in. Send me your Registration Form with a check & pack your sleeping bags. Call me about anything. See you at Kualoa this July.
Aloha,
(808) 737-1774
PS Please send this note around to other story folks who’d like to come. Help me invite others, bring friends. You won’t find a more diverse, talented, friendly, and oddly wise group of story people anywhere in Hawaii…. and it’s so beautiful. Yep!
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