Tag Archive for: Culture Days

Uncle Elmer by Sandra

About 20 people showed up to Movie Night at the Museum, held at the Grand Coteau Heritage & Cultural Centre, to watch the digital stories that workshop participants in Shaunavon, SK created earlier this week. Sandra’s story is on her uncle Elmer who experienced hearing loss from an ear infection in the 1930s.

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SaskScapes-Kindersley: “Antelope, telephone fences, & electric chairs?” – with guests Bud and Bill

Deer and antelope play, telephones made from barbed wire fences and toy electric chairs that work! These are some of the stories you’ll hear from my two guests Bud Thomson (not Anderson! sorry Bud! Electric chair for the host?), and Bill Warrington as we wind our way through the farmlands of Alsask and Loverna, SK in a truck.

Blue Eyes by Evie

In my digital storytelling workshops, I’ve been encouraging participants to tell first-person stories. But another way to tell a story is to interview someone. About a year ago, I sat down with my mother at her dining room table, with a handheld recorder, and I asked her to tell me some stories about my birth. I listened to those anecdotes a few days ago and turned one of them into this digital story.

Length of time it took to make:  4 hours

Equipment used: Zoom H4n recorder; Macbook Pro laptop

Software: Audacity; iMovie ’09

Music: royalty-free music downloaded from Jamendo

 

SaskScapes-The Gravelbourg community players

The Gravelbourg community players join me on stage at the Renaissance Gaiety theatre and share their personal stories of reinvention which led them to finding passion in the theatre. These folks are an inspiration for anyone who wishes to follow a dream.

SaskScapes-The Radisson Music Festival – with Avery & Gerald

Born of previous musical events in the area, this year launches the premier of the Radisson Music Festival. A vision fully realized by my second guest, Radisson town councillor and musician Gerald Wiebe. My first guest is a fresh new musician on the Saskatchewan music landscape. At 18 years old, Avery Fairbrother has caught the eye (and ears) of the towns of Borden, Radisson and beyond. He’s ambitious, smart, articulate and great with numbers!

A new perspective

When driving through the farm fields of Saskatchewan, I’ve always been curious as to why abandoned barns and shacks are left barely standing, ready to return to the soil. I find them oddly beautiful structures and each one is like looking at a house of cards ready to tumble. Why not knock them down and clear the area?

In an upcoming SaskScapes podcast I spent an afternoon driving around my guest, Bill Warrington on his family farm. I asked him this very question. The next thing I knew Bill was cutting across his own wheat field, me bumping along beside him in his white truck, and then we came to a stop.

There stood (or rather leaned) an old wooden house. Bill is so proud of his family history and in 2011 had a plaque erected to honour the Warrington family homestead built one hundred years earlier. This was the home in which Bill’s ancestors lived, 13 children raised in this small shack! We mused about the pressure of having to get along under cramped quarters.

And in that moment, I realized why many of these dishevelled monuments are left standing. Within their toppling walls there are family stories to be remembered. How many of these landmarks are left standing to preserve the past? It was also pointed out to me, that in many cases they provide shelter for wildlife. I’ll never look at them quite the same way again.

SaskScapes-with guest Myrna Dey

Myrna Dey is a Canadian author residing in Kamsack, SK. Her novel “Extensions” was voted “people’s choice” for the 2011 Scotia Bank Giller Prize. Myrna talks about the experiences that have influenced her writing – from growing up in a “bookish” household, to living in Saskatchewan, Alberta, Guyana, and more.

Capturing Our Stories: Moving to Canada by Holly

Grade 7 student, Holly, tells about the adventure that she and her family took when they moved from Ireland to Moose Jaw, SK. This story was created in a digital storytelling workshop at King George School in Moose Jaw.

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Capturing Our Stories: Torrey by Asia

It’s tough to pull off humour, but Grade 6 student, Asia, succeeds with her digital story on her little brother, Torrey. This video was created in a digital storytelling workshop at King George School in Moose Jaw, SK.

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