As Tacoma celebrated the dawn of 2015 with its First Night Festival, we carted our Port-A-Parlor up to the Pantages Theatre’s front porch to ask people to share their most memorable experiences of the year.
Visitors ranged in age from nine to seven-times-nine. Each one stepped inside our mobile studio and shared the sad, surprising, troubling, and terrific events that will always remind them of the Year That Was 2014.
We had a fabulous New Year’s Eve, sharing and recording stories at First Night Tacoma Pierce County. Audio from the Story Snapshot Booth is on the way, but first, a slideshow of the evening. PHOTOS: Britton Sukys
Sign Painting: Britton Sukys
Stories aren’t just for the stage. They can happen anywhere and anytime people gather for community, connection and celebration. With our Story Snapshot Booth, we capture those stories in their natural habitat.
A couple weeks ago, we took the mobile “Port-a-Parlor” to the Washington State CASA Conference to collect stories about helping foster children through tough times. More than twenty men and women stepped inside a converted minivan to open up about the lessons, rewards and transformations they experienced in their volunteer work.
A minivan disguised as an inviting conversation parlor.
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When I sat down to record the stories, I expected to hear about real-life events. So, the story below surprised me. And yet, in ninety seconds, Ramona gave me a resonant image of what it means to volunteer for CASA.
CASA is a nationwide non-profit that recruits, screens, trains, and supervises community volunteers who advocate for the best interests of abused, abandoned, and neglected children moving through the family court system. The program grew out of a group started by a King County Superior Court judge in 1977.
Volunteers are not social workers or foster parents. They advocate solely for the child and are trained to offer an informed and objective perspective on the child’s best interest. In doing that, they draw on their own judgment in conjunction with regular training.
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This story sounds like it’s headed for tragedy, but then passes through Patty Murray’s office and ultimately gives Karen a lesson she’ll never forget.
In this story, Carrie stands behind a teenager with a track record of drug abuse and petty crimes to keep him out of juvenile detention.
People of all ages, backgrounds and points-of-view volunteer, each bringing their own unique perspective and life skills. Advocating for children changed a lot of attitudes Bob formed in his corporate career, but he finds his business acumen gives him the ability to make a difference in the lives of the littlest children.
These are just a few of the stories from our Story Snapshot Booth visit. You can listen to all seventeen stories here.
Storyteller portraits by Britton Sukys.
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Megan on the “Story Phone”, planning our next Story Snapshot Booth event.
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Tad Monroe, in the Story Seat.
Megan Sukys, ready to listen.
You can hear stories from a 2013 Story Snapshot Booth visit to the JBLM Welcome Home celebration here.