Announcing…The 17th Annual

Vancouver International Storytelling Festival

February 6-8, 2009
Heritage Hall (Main St. @ W. 15th Ave.)
Tickets (see prices below) at www.ticketstonight.ca or 604-684 2787

The Vancouver International Storytelling Festival celebrates its 17th season with a weekend of performances by sought-after professional storytellers from home and abroad, all on the theme of “In the beginning…” Main Street’s Heritage Hall, decorated in the style of a magical, Arabian Nights-inspired Bedouin tent, will be home to origin stories from all over the world, and tales about beginnings of all kinds. Local favourites Kira Van Deusen, Jean-Pierre Makosso, Melanie Ray, Naomi Steinberg, EvenSteven, Wing-Siu Wong, Max Tell, Philomena Jordan, Kagan Goh and Helen Mintz will be joined by special guests Janet Blake (world-renowned teller from the UK), Eric Gauthier (from Montreal) and Pat Braden (from the NWT).

Schedule Overview
Friday Feb. 6, 8 pm – Opening Concert: In the Beginning
Hosted by Naomi Steinberg, with Janet Blake, Wing-Siu Wong, Jean-Pierre  Makosso,  Melanie Ray & the 2008 StorySlam Champion; also featuring fiddle tunes by Mary Brunner
Saturday Feb. 7, morning – story circles for kids & teens (FREE for ages 16 & under!) with Max Tell, Pat Braden, Jean-Pierre Makosso and Janet Blake
Saturday Feb. 7, afternoon – Mother’s Stories, Women’s Story Jam, “Leaving Home, Finding  Home”, “Big Bang! Primal Traditions of Myth & Magic”, and a workshop for multi-lingual tellers
Saturday Feb. 7 (OFF SITE) – Montreal teller Eric Gauthier at the Alliance française
Saturday Feb. 7, 8 pm – Speak Easy: Cabaret Night – Non-Traditional Telling hoted by EvenSteven with Pat Braden, Janet Blake, Philomena Jordan, Kagan Goh & Tanya Evanson
Sunday Feb. 8, morning – Epic tales and creation stories over coffee, featuring an ancient Tibetan epic about the heavenly trickster Gesar, as told by Kira Van Deusen; also  “Secret Melodies: Jewish Women’s Stories” with Helen Mintz and “Coming into Being” with Janet Blake & Pat Braden
Sunday Feb. 7, afternoon – panel: contemporary myths & the storyteller’s responsibility, moderated by Kierstin De West (CEO, Conscientious Innovation) with Janet Blake, Tanya Evanson, Helen Mintz & Kira Van Deusen; also “The Wind At My Back: Stories and     Songs of the Human Spirit” with Wing-Siu Wong, Vanessa Richards & The Cultural     Medicine Cabinet Choir
Sunday Feb. 7, afternoon (OFF SITE) – Montreal teller Eric Gauthier at Le Centre culturel     francophone
Sunday Feb. 8, evening – Community Pot Luck
**NOTE: Opening Concert and Cabaret are adults only (there will be a cash bar).

Tickets: Available at www.ticketstonight.ca or 604-684-2787
Opening Concert or Saturday Cabaret (adults only): $20
Day Pass – Saturday or Sunday: $18 (adults) / free admission for ages 16 & under on Saturday morning
Individual Adult Weekend Pass: $55 (general) / $50 (seniors, students, VSOS members)
Family Weekend Pass: $100