Call for Storytellers, Pay What You Want Event, June Event Recap and More
Storytellers Wanted!
It’s that time again when you have your opportunity to share your story with the Missoula community. Storytellers are paid for sharing their stories and receive story coaching from Tell Us Something staff. Got a story to share? We want to hear it!
Theme: “Never Again” Share a story of overcoming adversity & resilience. ✊
Pitch by Aug 9th! Call 406-203-4683 (Leave summary: Beginning, Middle, End). ☎️
Deaf? Email [email protected] ✉️
Creative Pulse Event
Join Tell Us Something and the University of Montana for an evening of storytelling featuring 6 graduate students from the Creative Pulse Summer Graduate Program.
Location: Bonner Park Bandshell
Date: July 11, 2024
Start Time: 7:00 PM
Bring your own chairs. Pay what you want.
Participants in the Creative Pulse program are all educators and cram an entire semester’s worth of work into 4 weeks. They earn professional credits for their work.
Their stories are raw, real, relatable riveting and fun!
6 storytellers each have 10 minutes to share their true personal stories live on stage.
Unlike traditional Tell Us Something events, there is no theme for the evening.
June Recap
The June 11 Tell Us Something event in collaboration with Missoula Pride was again amazing. 2 allies and 6 LBGTQ+ voices shared their stories around the theme “Going Home”. The audio recording that I have is full of background hiss, and I am awaiting a pristine copy from the sound engineer. For now, in case you missed it, you can check out the photos below, and watch the video over at our YouTube channel once it finishes uploading (it’s currently at 36% AT 4:30 PM on 7/7/2024). Be sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel so you can be notified when it’s finished uploading.
YCERP Event/Humanities MT in Ennis, MT
I go all over the state of Montana teaching storytelling workshops in small places like the Stillwater County Public Library, or towns like Great Falls or Helena through the Speakers in the Schools program over at Humanities Montana. I got the call to provide the program for our friends at the Ennis Public Library and I lit up. Many of you know that I used to be a park ranger in Yellowstone National Park. You probably don’t know that my brother worked there during the same time that I did, and he dated a woman whose job it was to provide recreational opportunities for Park employees. It didn’t matter if the employees were NPS, worked at the Hamilton stores, the YPSS gas station or for Xanterra. So, I thought, “Ennis? I’m going to the Park! And I’ll bet that job still exists.” It does. I called the Xanterra HR department and was connected with the person who is in charge of the Yellowstone Co-Op Employee Recreation Program (YCERP)
I told her about Tell Us Something and that I thought it would be cool if we could produce a Tell Us Something event in Yellowstone by and for Park employees. She agreed that it would be pretty cool. So, this upcoming weekend, I’m heading to Yellowstone to produce Open Hearts Open Trails. It’s a little scaled down from what we’re used to because we had to pull it together pretty quickly, and I am excited about being back in the Park. I’ll keep you posted next month.
990s
We’ve added a new page to our website detailing our financials! The /financials page has links to the required 990 forms that we submit to the IRS each year.
Transparency is important to us, and we want you to see how your support fuels our storytelling mission.
Check it out and learn how you can be a part of something special.
Join the Board
Tell Us Something is searching for passionate community members to join our Board of Directors! ✨
We believe in the power of storytelling to connect us, inspire empathy, and build a stronger Missoula.
Do you:
- Believe in the magic of storytelling?
- Want to champion local voices?
- Have fundraising or event planning experience?
If you answered YES, we want to hear from you!
Volunteer opportunities
Calling all story lovers! Tell Us Something needs YOU!
Help us connect Missoula through the power of storytelling. Volunteer opportunities available in event planning, marketing, and more!
Make a difference & join our passionate community.
Sign up for event-based volunteer opportunities.
Sign up for behind the scenes (non-event based) volunteer opportunities.
Get Your Tickets
Have you ever overcome a challenge so big you swore “Never Again”? ✊ Come listen to your community share their “Never Again” stories at the September 18th Tell Us Something event! Hear tales of resilience on the “Never Again” theme. Grab your now and join us a powerful night of storytelling!
GET TICKETSAlumni Spotlight
Beth Jaffe – A Dream Come True
Ever wonder what happens to our inspiring Tell Us Something storytellers after they take the stage? The Alumni Spotlight is where we catch up with our storytellers and see how their storytelling journeys have unfolded! Get ready to be amazed by their creativity, resilience, and that they have in the world.
Growing up in Ohio, I spent many summer evenings chasing a golfball around for 9 holes. No, I never learned to golf, and the first hole was a classic windmill, its blades slowly turning under the weight of a plastic golf ball precariously perched on top. Laughter filled the air as we each tried (and mostly failed) to bank our putts off the tiny windmill platform and into the hole. We celebrated success with high fives and playful taunts, while whiffed shots earned good-natured groans and exaggerated disappointment.
Back in 2014, Beth Jaffe shared her dream of bringing mini golf to Missoula. Ten years later, that dream has come to fruition, albeit in a slightly different format than she had imagined. Missoula Mini Golf is a portable mini golf course that is highly customizable. They just launched. I spoke to Beth on the phone, and she said that post pandemic, she was thinking of the mental health benefit of play and fun. And that we need to prioritize fun. And that we need new ways to have fun. So, she and her family buckled down to bring us Missoula Mini Golf. The holes are highly customizable, and she said that they can work with you to design customized holes for your organization’s teambuilding needs. I immediately thought of Board retreats (or company retreats for that matter. Listen to Beth’s story here, then check them out at https://msominigolf.com
Katrina Farnum is a force to be reckoned with and is the driving force behind Garden Mother Herbs. Garden Mother proudly serves the community as a professional, welcoming, and holistic cannabis dispensary. With thoughtfully handcrafted products and a well-educated staff, they understand that each individual is unique and will take great care to help you find what you’re looking for. And they have recently moved. Check them out at 1700 South 3rd St West! You can listen to Katrina’s story here.
Grace Decker is another force to be reckoned with. She’s hellfire on the fiddle in her band Cash For Junkers.
C4J are the geniuses that provide the music for the Tell Us Something podcast! The song is called Buzzin. You can listen to the entire album from which it was taken on their website if streaming is your thing.
The Junkers play original songs inspired by early honky tonk & western swing, and let me tell you, they are so much fun! It’s time to get your dancing shoes on and celebrate the heartache and honky tonk. C4J takes over The Union Club on July 27.
You can listen to Grace’s story here.
Are you a Tell Us Something storytelling alumni? Got something cool coming up you want us to feature in the newsletter? Drop us an email to let us know.
Thanks for reading.
