December 2024 Newsletter
To become a member of Storytelling Association (Singapore), please click on this link | |
|
Events in Singapore & Around the World
Stories have a unique way of captivating us, sparking inspiration to share our own. They connect us, transform us, and give life to our thoughts and experiences. Join us for an immersive experience where you’ll uncover the essence of the story you’re destined to tell.
Through Debbie Guneratne’s transformative technique, you’ll ignite your imagination and discover how to craft stories that truly resonate. Whether you’re a seasoned storyteller or just beginning your journey, this is your chance to bring your ideas to life and let your creativity take flight as you explore the heart of a story like never before!
About Debbie Guneratne
Debbie Guneratne is a Sathara Karaya, a third-generation storyteller, who specialises in telling stories from her multi-cultural heritage. She spent a year travelling the world telling stories to, working with and learning from indigenous groups. She is an expert in working with multicultural groups, drawing on people’s stories and making deep connections with audiences.
Debbie’s expertise, lived experience and passion enabling young people and adults to have a voice, telling their stories, ensures that everyone feels included and valued. Do check her website to find out more. www.debbieguneratne.com/
Participants will need to bring
– Paper
– Pens or pencils in different colours
Click here to find out more and register for this session
Since SAS is an institutional member of FEAST (Federation of Asian Story Tellers), 5 members of SAS can attend this workshop at FEAST member’s rate of SGD$7 (standard rate is SGD$15). Sign up quickly to be the first 5 SAS members to enjoy this rate! Email feastwebinars@gmail.com to get this special rate.
FEAST has numerous events (some free and some for a small fee) every month. To find out more or to become a member go to their website here.
Join us for a storytelling session featuring tales that include the phrase “They all saw it” where the audience will be invited into a world where shared experiences of wonder, terror, or revelation bind the characters together. The stories could be from legends, fairytales, personal experiences or historical ventures. We could move from eerie encounters to jubilant celebrations or simple humourous moments that will never be forgotten.
If you would like to tell a prepared story of 5-6 minutes email Christine Carlton at storyaus@gmail.com to be put on the list to tell a short story that must include the words “they all saw it”. The stories are told, not read.
This is a free online event organised by the Australian Storytelling Guild (NSW) Come as a listener or teller. All welcome.
Wednesday, 18th December 2024 – 4.20 pm SGT (check your timezone
Register on Humanitix for your free link.
Starts December 2nd Monday, 10.30 pm, Singapore time
To find out more and to register click here
Stories about kindness, peace, generosity, compassion, hope – stories to accompany us in this magical period – stories to make us reflect and to help us become a better version of ourselves.
Join us everyday for the second edition of Words of Kindness!
For 24 days, from December 1st to December 24th, we’ll share some of our favourite stories – find the stories on YouTube (a new story is released every day on the YouTube channel below)
https://www.youtube.com/@simonasstories
The calendar is and stories are, free for everyone to watch and enjoy
Creative and Engaging Storytelling for Teachers (CrEST)
Acclaimed Course of six live online sessions
Click here for details and to register
The course has been given a 5-star rating by 98% of participants. The remaining 2% have given the course 4 stars.
To register and find out more click here
For the website and for other events click here
11 am Singapore time 21st December 2024
Email jdelnegro@dom.edu for the Zoom link and/ or if you are interested in telling a story (7 – 10 minutes max)
January 1 at 7 PM (EST) / ( January 2 at 8 am ( Singapore time) via Zoom for an evening of storytelling and connection as we welcome the new year with open hearts and shared tales.
Whether you have a story to tell or simply wish to listen, all are welcome to this cozy and inspiring gathering.
Let’s celebrate the new year together!
The 21st(!) Fairy Tale Variations show!
A powerhouse of tellers like Donna Washington, Laura Packer, and Megan Wells will all be bringing us new versions of a story you all know!
December 6th 9 am Singapore time
Trees and Tales
I am a Tree!
Who planted Me?
You?
Your parents? Your grandparents?
Or your great, great grandparents?
I am a Tree!
Who planted Me?
Butterflies? Bees? Birds?
Or beasts?
I am a Tree!
Who planted Me?
Your waste? Your wisdom? Your wonder?
Or You?
Tree Planting Day is an annual event in Singapore and is held on the first Sunday of November. The tradition began in 1963 when Singapore’s founding father, Mr. Lee Kuan Yew planted a mempat tree in Farrer Circus. The first official Tree Planting Day was held on November 7, 1971, when a rain tree was planted at the summit of Mount Faber.
Each one of us can get involved in Tree Planting Day as it is a community event. By 2030 this community event hopes to plant one million more trees in Singapore. The city-state’s goal is to transform Singapore into a City in Nature.
One day as I walked around my neighborhood, I spotted something that resembled a mini pumpkin, and I looked around to find its source. I learnt that it was the fruit of the sandbox tree and that they look cute but when they mature, they explode with a loud bang and fling their seeds at speeds of up to 150 miles per hour. Sandbox trees are also known as dynamite trees. The trunk is covered in spikes, and I believe those spikes are full of poison. In fact, native South Americans have been said to make arrow poison out of the sap of the tree.
Nature is fascinating.
“A society grows great when old people plant trees in whose shade they know they shall never sit in.” ~Greek Proverb
I am etched on Singapore’s five-dollar bill. Who am I?
I stand tall in the Singapore Botanic Gardens. Come one, come all and look for me. I am not difficult to find as I have a distinctive lateral lower branch.
I am located on the lawn that overlooks Swan Lake. I have a lovely view. So many romances my branches have witnessed. I have a towering presence, and I am 170 years old. I am 32 meters in height and 6 meters around. Perhaps I am the oldest thing you know.
I bear small red berries and grow fragrant white flowers. I epitomize the spirit of Singapore; strong, resilient, and continuously striving for progress.
Let me tell you a secret. I have been standing here even before the establishment of the gardens in 1859. I hold the distinction of being recognized as one of the first heritage trees
My hardy characteristics are well known. Ask the people around. A person devoid of any compassion is told, “do not be as hard hearted me.” I am used as a metaphor comparing a hard heart to my wood.
Being hard hearted, oops, hard wooded has its advantages though, I am durable and resistant to termite attack and hence my wood is used for carving, building bridges, and in heavy construction too.
I stand wide and I stand tall, I have witnessed many joyful events, so many concerts, children playing, families enjoying picnics, but one thing that makes me sad is that a young couple were attending a public concert with their 11-month-old twins when one of my branches snapped and pinned the lady down. She died under the impact of those injuries. I know that it was a tragic misadventure and yet my remorse will not leave me.
Currently there is fencing around me. I understand it is for my own protection, yet I miss the tender touch of children, the firm grip of youths, the gentle caress of the elderly, and the warm hugs by so many tree lovers.
I accept and embrace it as life and my lived experiences have shaped me into what I am today.
I am the iconic tembusu tree on your five-dollar bill.
I survived!
A Callery Pear tree that was planted in the early 1970’s stood at the World Trade Center, New York providing shade to humans and a nesting and perching place for birds.
Nearly 30 years later, on September 11th, 2001, when the World Trade Center was demolished by hijacked airplanes, the tree was buried alive, burned and badly damaged. It lay there for weeks beneath the rubble.
It was over a month after the incident and the team in charge of cleaning up was working another back-breaking day clearing out the debris from the destruction site. They were exhausted, several times many of the team wished to call it quits when all of a sudden, they discovered a bit of life in the form of a single tree branch with tiny green leaves peeking out of the rubble. That find was a glimmer of hope in an otherwise dark and dreary task. The team persevered.
However, the charred and battered Callery Pear tree was in poor shape. The roots were snapped, and the boughs were burnt and broken.
The World Trade Center had fallen on the tree and nearly destroyed it. Most people thought that the tree would not survive but the fragile tree was replanted at Van Cortland Park in the Bronx.
The next spring when birds arrived, people knew there was life in the tree because a dove had built a nest in the center of the tree. The tree is living proof of the horror of that day and the subsequent healing after that day.
In 2010, the tree was moved back to Memorial Plaza and planted at the National 9/11 Memorial & Museum. New, smooth limbs had extended from the gnarled stumps, and it has created a visible demarcation between the tree’s past and present. Today the tree stands as a living reminder of resilience, survival and rebirth. The tree was a fighter. It was a survivor. It earned the name of The Survivor Tree- a symbol of hope.
Each year, the Survivor Seedling Program sends seedlings from The Survivor Tree to communities that have endured recent tragedies.
“Those who plant a tree plant hope.” ~Lucy Larcom
References
Infopedia
National Parks Board (NParks)
Survivor Tree (9/11 Memorial Stories)