NEWFANE-In honor of the nation's 250th birthday, the Historical Society of Windham County (HSWC) presents "A Potluck of Stories: Windham County Remembers," a weekend of stories from Windham County's past and present.
A different program for each date will include real-time stories told by residents of our towns: stories that shed a light on where we've come from to become who we are. The HSWC issued invitations to all 23 county towns for stories and tellers. The participating storytellers represent many of those communities.
Saturday's lineup includes Barbara Coleman, Carleen Pelsue, Charlie Marchant, Dane Rank, David Parker, Janet Lucier, Jon Julian, Kent Young, Leslie Zucker, Marty Gehring, Peter Erickson, Susan Persa, and Tino Benson.
Sunday's program will feature Alan Bills, Alex Lockie, Bucky Pelsue, Charlie Marchant, Eli Galbraith, Fred Homer, Jean Allbee, Mary McCoy, Melanie Keiser, Michael Bosworth, Naima Wade, Richard Wizansky, Roger Allbee, Rick Zamore, and Steve Benson.
The event is produced by Annie Landenberger, Henriette Mantel, and Kim Willis who, in a news release, expressed their collective hope for the event to serve as "a catalyst for our villages and towns to find their unique stories and share them."
"Personal accounts are more important now than ever before," the organizers add. "As we morph into an even-more technology-driven culture, we'd do well to hold on to what makes us human, the things AI can't tell: our stories."
"Oral histories are windows into the past," Laura Wallingford Bacon of the HSWC added. "The Potluck of Stories captures local life and moments in time: they're precious documents of days gone by."
"A Potluck of Stories: Windham County Remembers" takes place Saturday, Oct. 24, at 7 p.m., and Sunday, Oct. 25, at 2 p.m. at Union Hall, 5 Church St., Newfane, just off Route 30. For more information, visit potluckofstories.carrd.co or email verbatimvt@gmail.com. The programs are free, though donations to the Historical Society of Windham County will be welcomed.
This Arts item was submitted to The Commons.