northernwalker

I’m finally home for long enough to do some catching up here. Let’s fire up the wayback machine to March and the Women’s Storytelling Festival.


The 2025 Women’s Storytelling Festival was held March 20th through 23rd. Thursday the 20th was the virtual showcase, emceed by Bonnie Gardner, which I didn’t watch until a few days after the festival. First up in that showcase was Shani Womack, whose story had to do with the importance of community and interconnections, including members of her family. She was followed by Sarah Brady telling the story of Cassandra who had been given the gift of prophecy from Apollo but cursed not to be believed when she refused him. Janel Woodland focused on mother-daughter relationships as she, who had never wanted children, married a man with three children from a previous marriage. Her story involved a mall trip with her step-daughter and her mother and a funny prank. Sarah Beth Nelson brought us back to mythology with the legend of Medea. Finally, Karin Amano talked about difficulties with pregnancy and seeing an infertility specialist after losing a baby at 30 weeks.

The in-person show(s) started Friday night. Laura Packer started things off with a story about telling at a venue with an unusual dress code. She was followed by Toby Ishii Anderson with a story about her family’s experience with a Japanese internment camp. Andrea Kamens was next with a Chassidic story about how a rebbetzin brought light to a man who had been called "good-for-nothing." Then, Ingrid Nixon told her version of Hansel and Gretel, followed by a personal story about the secret to being a perfect daughter. Linda Gorham had a very funny story about the chocolate-loving Behr (not bear!) family. Jessica Piscitelli Robinson’s story was about telling at the Exchange Place at the National Storytelling Festival. Laura Deal closed the evening with a story about family health struggles. She also threw in a little bit of laughing yoga. All of this was was ably emceed by Kristin Pedemonti.

Saturday started off with a showcase featuring Carol Moore and Ingrid Nixon, with emcee Jeanna Lee. Carol talked about four women who influenced her - her mother, her boxing coach,her life coach,and her (paternal) grandmother. Ingrid started with a story about wanting to be Daniel Boone as a child, including having a buckskin jacket. Next she told the Grimm story about Godmother Death, which is one of my personal favorites. Then she told about being on a Russian icebreaker in the Arctic and seeing a polar bear, which she combined with an Inuit story about an old woman who adopts a polar bear cub as her son. She finished with a short piece about shopping for a gift for her mother in a five and dime.

The first Saturday afternoon showcase, emceed by Jenn White, started with Laura Deal, who told two stories - one about her ability to find things in her childhood home, including a pet turtle with an affection for an old pump organ - and one about a missing wedding ring. Aimee Snow had a story about her dream role in a show, playing opposite a guy she had a crush on. Laura Packer told a lovely and complex story involving her recurring characters, Crazy Jane and Red-Haired Annie. Then came Andrea Kamens with a story about her aunts, with a fairy tale twist. Finally, Sarah Snyder told a story about her mother’s death.

By the way, I was originally supposed to be in that session, but things were behind schedule so Jessica asked me to start off the next session instead, which was emceed by Fairfax mayor Catherine Read. I told my story “Berel the Baker,” which blends a Chelm story with a story about taking my mother to Poland to see the towns her parents were from. Next up was Linda Gorham, with a story about the music she grew up with and her struggles with singing in public, which led into a version of Rumpelstiltskin using Beatles songs. Toby Ishii Anderson continued with two stories about water - one about fly fishing and one about a tsunami. Ingrid Nixon finished off the session with a story about moving from Alaska to a small town in Washington state and having to cope with having to mow a lawn.

Saturday night’s session was emceed by Lauren Stephens. It started with Carol Moore whose story had to do with learning about menopause. Next up was Andrea Kamens with a twist on Little Red Riding Hood, from the perspective of the wolf. She was followed by Swapna Deshpande with a story about getting a pet snail to alleviate her melancholy as an empty nester. Then came Jennifer Hillery with a story about dealing with her father’s health issues. She was followed by Amanda Lawrence with a story about her son’s premature birth.

I was very tired at that point so I went home. I watched the end of the Saturday night show on-line a couple of weeks later. Laura Packer had a short and relatable piece about what she wanted to do when she grew up, which included paleontologist, a fireman, and the President. Jessica Robinson closed out the evening with an original folktale about gender roles.

Sunday’s program started with the story swap, where I fulfilled my traditional role as M.C. (which, in case you didn’t know, stands for “Miriam of Ceremonies.”) We had a wide mix of stories and I didn’t have to drag anyone off the stage, which is pretty much how I count success on this.

After the lunch break, Sherry Grimes emceed a showcase which started with Laura Packer telling a complex story about her aunt and Baba Yaga and encounters in the woods. She was followed by Ingrid Nixon with a story about a 13 year old girl who was rescued from a shipwreck in the Torres Strait and had to choose which life to live several years later. Linda Gorham closed out that session with a story about her grandparents and all the plastic in their house, with details related to her father’s deployment to Vietnam. She also told a short poem about waiting at red lights.

The finale showcase of the festival was emceed by Jamie McElhatton. First up was Linda Gorham with the Greek myth of Atalanta, which she likes to tell to middle school children. She finished off with a folk tale from Eastern Africa about a king who struggled to make a happy marriage. Then came Andrea Kamens with a story about a princess who refused to become queen until she was cured of being lame in one leg. Tobey Ishii Anderson was next with a story about making chains out of gum wrappers - and what happened to the chewed up gum. Then came Jessica Robinson, with a political metaphor about what happens when people don’t listen to the storytellers in their midst. Carol Moore’s story had to do with a training in the corporate world, which leads her to learning about sign language interpreting and the deaf community. Ingrid Nixon was the final teller for the festival, with a story about her father’s voice on a cassette tape.

I couldn’t really capture what the festival was like in person. Just trust me that there was a mix of traditional and modern, every possible mood, told by a wide range of women. And the best part of all is that we’re doing it again next year. We’d love to see you in March 2026 in Fairfax, Virginia. Or on-line if you can’t make it in person.