Grandma by Bronwyn
Grade 12 student Bronwyn Lloyd tells the story of a cross-cultural experience between her and her grandmother from Switzerland. This story was made in one of my digital storytelling workshops in Lumsden, SK.
Tag Archive for: iheartculture
Windscape Kite Festival
If you haven’t been to the WindScape Kite Festival in Swift Current, you really must go!
I had an incredible time, and I didn’t even take in any of the awesome nighttime concerts.
Although my days were filled with volunteering (face painting and kite making), I did get some time to peruse the grounds and was completely taken aback by all the activities: a Kinetic Sculptural Garden, whimsical characters on stilts, a hay bale maze, hourly shows of humour and dance, juggling and balancing acts, bubble stations … and more (so much more!).
For me, the highlight was arriving on site. There was something so thrilling about following the signs through the city, anticipation mounting, to finally come around a corner and see such enormous kites flying high in the air.
My days with the kids and volunteers were equally satisfying (although also very exhausting). I have done face painting before, but never to that extent. What a lesson in culture that was. Although there were pages of photos the kids could choose from, inevitably there were those who wanted to choose something different. And some of those choices required a bit of education (on my part, not theirs)! I learned much about the latest trends and fashions.
And in my last volunteer shift at the kite-making station, I learned about the heart of this festival… and I guess, one could say, the heart of Saskatchewan culture in general. I have heard that we are the volunteer capital of North America. But until this festival, my understanding of this claim was purely intellectual, not visceral.
Many interactions brought about this understanding.
One was learning that a guy named David single-handedly prepped all the kite materials for this festival. And he did it via volunteering. He cut every template, prepared every board of tape, and cut (and shaped) every piece of doweling. After my one shift, I am estimating that’s approximately 1500-2000 templates cut from garbage bags, and therefore 3000-4000 sticks of doweling. I’m not going to do the math on how many pieces of tape this man cut.
Then in my last hour of volunteering, there was the lady (twice my age) who told me that this was her sixth year volunteering. My feet were killing me and here she was smiling away telling me how she did it because she loved seeing the kids so happy. “Not one bad kid in six years. Not one!” she said.
And these are just two examples. This whole incredible cultural event is founded on volunteers. I heart culture, indeed!
SaskScapes – with guests Doreen Evans & Jack Lowe
Doreen Evans & Jack Lowe are two of Fort Qu’appelle’s more senior residents who recount some of the more colourful stories you won’t necessarily read in the history books. Recorded inside the old Central School, now home to the newly restored Qu’appelle Valley Centre for the Arts.
A Forest of Local Folklore
Driving back from my second visit to Waldheim, my traveling companions and I decided to take a little detour. We veered off course a bit to visit a place I have been wanting to see for years: The Crooked Forest.
Adding to my own anticipation, the detour took us down two unmarked dirt roads–the latter significantly narrower than the first. And then, all of a sudden, in the proverbial ‘middle of nowhere’ was a grove of unusual trees, with a small sign designating that we had reached our destination.
The Aspen in this bush are crooked, gnarled and shaped in such a way that they are worth the trip just for the visual experience alone. In some places the trees twist along the ground, and then in other places they coil through the air.
According to the sign the trees are “a botanical mystery.” And indeed they are. But I mention them here for another reason.
In the Crooked Forest!
After posting this photo on Facebook and describing my own experience–bodily sensations, batteries being drained, cell service immediately ending, etc. – I received numerous replies telling similar tales. People not only shared their experiences but they also explained their rationale for the mysterious trees.
A Google search amplified the plethora of local folklore ten-fold. The explanations for said forest ranged from alien urine, to energy vortexes, to bacteria.
Regardless of the reason why these trees grow they way they do, the effect of their peculiarity in terms of culture, is a stark reminder of the importance of place in local folklore. In this instance, this tiny grove of trees is the source of countless stories and tall tales. This grove of unusual trees is a microcosmic example of how local folklore defines a people and community.
The stories we tell about geographical phenomena, old buildings, landmarks of various sorts, places of significance in general, all help to form and define our communities. They tie people together via experience and belief and create micro-cultures that contribute to a larger, more diverse macro-culture.
Making Origami Boats at “Arts in the Park”
One of the Culture Days projects I am facilitating is a collaboration between Rockin’ Beach, Arts in the Park Festival, Rockglen Library and Rockglen School. We are going to make origami boats during the summer and early fall. Then on the Culture Days weekend, we will put a small candle in them and set them afloat on Fife Lake during a dusk gathering at Rockglen Beach.
The kick-off for this project took place at the Arts in the Park Festival (June 14) at Rockglen School. This wonderful little festival included all genres of art: live music, award winning authors, painters, knitters, quilting, photography and more.
I nestled in between an incredible Fibre/Earth Art display that investigated the aesthetics of decomposition on fibre and a young entrepreneur who aspires to be a ‘nail artist.’ And judging from the continuous line of customers I’d say that ten year old is well on her way to actualizing her dream.
I had approximately 20 people stop and make a boat, and I’m sure I talked to at least another twenty about our endeavours.
Many from an older generation stopped to tell me they had made such boats in school, and that they could remember it clearly.
Making origami boats!
Even fun for the boys!
I have made plans to return to the community a couple more times to carry-out more workshops: once in the Regional Library and once at the School.
Come join us! And watch for the boats during Culture Days!
Gravelbourg Museum – Louis Stringer
Louis Stringer is one of the foremost authorities on the history of Gravelbourg. He opens the doors of the town museum and takes me on a journey from prehistoric times to the present. There is no mistaking Louis passion for this area.
Sharing Stories in Moose Jaw
As a university instructor, it’s nice to switch things up and work with kids in elementary school. In Moose Jaw, I had a wonderful time getting to know a group of enthusiastic Grade 6 and 7 students at King George School.
One of my favourite sayings is “the shortest distance between two people is a story” and it proved to be true, yet again, as we got to know one another through our stories. I stood back and watched as kids discovered details about their classmates’ lives and saw one another from new perspectives. They demonstrated empathy and were able to recognize similarities in their shared experiences.
One girl, new to the school, spent some time in a foster home and did her story on singing as her hobby, which she says has helped her through tough times. She narrates, “When I’m singing, I feel something that I’ve never felt before… Even though I have really low self-esteem, my voice has always been something I love about myself.” Another girl did her story on moving to Canada from Ireland and included the detail of how funny she thought the name Moose Jaw was when she and her family first heard it. One boy did his story on building a garden in his backyard with his mother. He discovered his love for assembling wooden garden beds and growing vegetables. There were stories about BFFs, siblings and parents.
I tell the students in my workshops that good non-fiction stories almost always touch on a universal experience — one that the listener can relate to, or that incites the listener to look at their own experiences differently. These stories did just that.
Planting the Pallet Garden
(photo credits: Kim Wilchynski)
Once the pallets were set in place, the Grade 1 & 2 classes of JH Moore set about planting the seeds they had sprouted the previous month, as well as new seeds from packets.
Low laying plants or ‘greens’ (such as lettuce, swiss char, spinach, beets, etc.) were planted in the horizontal pallets. Trailing or ‘vine’ plants (such as peas and beans) were planted in the vertical pallet planters.
My Rockglen hosts
My hosts, Jan Johnston and Neil Jones join me after a fantastic home cooked breakfast and share their stories of how they came to Rockglen and their passion for presenting live music and exhibiting original art. Swift Current painter/musician Ken Christopher joins us, and Brenda Feuerstein is back!
Rockglen house party jam session
Rockglen residents Jan Johnston and painter/musician Neil Jones open their home to me and invite over a dozen of their local musician friends for evening house party jam session. Share in the stories of some warm hearted folks and some great live music too!