Going Coastal II: SLO County July 2013

I'm back from another storytelling trip to San Luis Obispo County! 

I was last in the area in October, with a week-long trip sharing stories all over the place (mostly seasonal, spooky tales, as requested by the libraries). It was so great to be back for a two-day, four-event jaunt, on familiar & friendly territory, renewing acquaintances and bringing a new set of tales--this time a bunch of silliness from the famous Juan Bobo--along for some nice, big Summer Reading audiences. Here it all is, in a nutshell:


Day 1: San Luis Obispo Library

The San Luis Obispo Library sure is a bright, sunshiny place first thing in the morning!
BTW, they've added a gorgeous new mural inside since I last visited.

When I performed in this library back in October, it was after dark, and tucked in the stacks of the Children's Section, AND the library was undergoing a construction project--so this experience was quite a bit different! As soon as the library opened at 10, people were starting to hover for my 10:30 program, which was in a nice, big program room in the front of the building. The large crowd was ready for me and my silliness, and the participation level during my storytelling was high--just the way I love it.

Day 2: Atascadero & Paso Robles

Colony Park Community Center, the Atascadero Library's summer performance venue. 

 
I was back at the Atascadero Library, and yet, I was NOT back at the Atascadero Library! Summer Reading season is a big deal here, and their current facility can't accommodate their huge program audiences, so the library takes over the local community center on performance days. So many grown-ups & kids of all ages, all looking for a good time--and I do think we had one! Adults after the fact were walking up & thanking me for a performance they could love, too.


I left Atascadero & headed directly up 101 to Paso Robles for my final pair of events.

Paso Robles City Library on the left, and the Library Study Center on the right. 

What an interesting experience I had this time at the Paso Robles City Library! Usually, it's the adults sitting in the back whom I have to drag into the interactive experience of my storytelling, but this time, it was the kids sitting up front on the floor who needed a little waking up! Fortunately for us all, the crowd in back carried the weight to start, and the whole group did get into the spirit of things! Some engines, some days, do take longer to start than others--take MINE, for instance! ;) 


After the performance, a woman came up with her daughter & said, "I think we saw you a long time ago!" I was thinking she must have meant back in October, when I performed at this library last. And then she said, "did you tell stories at the Livermore Library?" Why, yes, I did and DO!


My final performance of this SLO County visit was at the Paso Robles Library Study Center, with mostly older kids & a few grownups, with a lot of the eye-rolling, head-slapping, don't-stop,-tell-us-more-ing I love from this age group! After THIS session, at which the librarian had introduced me as being from San Francisco, one boy had a very important question for me: "do you like the Giants?" I was confused. Being a storyteller, I thought he was talking about, you know, GIANTS!

It was an honest mistake! 

Right after I finished, it was home again to the SF Bay Area, where of course I had to set an early alarm to get back to my regular library duties in Livermore & Menlo Park, plus all of the local school & library storytelling events I've got coming up. 


Well, that was a really fun trip. I enjoyed getting reacquainted with librarian friends in San Luis Obispo, Atascadero & Paso Robles, and sharing stories & silliness with some nice, big summer reading audiences. Will I be back to share more stories? I certainly hope so, and I'll look forward to the opportunity! I'll say what I said last time around: if you know of any places in the area you think should host an appearance--whether schools, libraries, museums, zoos or whatever--please let them know about me, let me know about them, and when it happens, let your friends know there is something slightly ridiculous happening on the Central Coast!

Storyteller John Weaver

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Check out the book: How to be a Storyteller: Essays and Advice on the Art of Storytelling (link HERE)!

Going Coastal

I just got back from a week of storytelling up & down California's Central Coast, & boy, are my tonsils tired!

I had a wonderful time spreading some fun & mild chills during several late October events in San Luis Obispo & Santa Barbara Counties; here's a little rundown:

Day 1: Morro Bay & San Luis Obispo Libraries

The Morro Bay Library, as seen from its parking-lot side entrance

A fun start to my trip, as I walked into the program room at the Morro Bay Library, or as I'd known the room from my previous trips during visits to SLO county, the BOOK SALE ROOM!  I've gotten some really good deals in this space before!  And I got a good deal on this day, with a friendly welcome and a small but very appreciative group of story lovers.  A brother & sister there with their mother informed me that the three of them come in every Tuesday afternoon--what a great family tradition!  In what become a regular part of my story tour, there were a few adults who had wandered in by themselves to take it all in.  Nice people, lots of smiles--a rewarding first stop!

Right after I was done in Morro Bay, I headed down Highway One to the San Luis Obispo Library.  You've got to see the furniture in this Children's Room!  To be honest, I didn't even notice it until after the event, when a patron pointed it out to me--but it's great!  The couches & benches look like over-sized books--and very comfortable ones, at that.  We had a nice-sized group of families and story-loving adults squeezed into a large, cozy corner of the Children's Room, and happy faces all around.

The SLO Library, and its bookishly-cool furniture.

I pleased to see on the SLO County Library's Facebook page that evening that apparently both events had been well-received:
"Wow! John Weaver shared some amazing stories at the SLO and Morro Bay Libraries last night...This Bay area storyteller is funny, spooky, and not to be missed. I think the adults liked this almost as much as the kids!"

Day 2: Solvang-Cayucos-Santa Maria
I put a lot of miles on my car AND my vocal chords this day, as I drove down and up and back down & back up between SLO & Santa Barbara Counties for a trio of events!  First stop was Ballard Elementary in Solvang--a former one-room schoolhouse that is still small enough to have one class for each grade level K-6.  It's a group of just over 100 kids who know each other very well, and work extremely well as a group!  We got them all into their multi-purpose room for a storytelling event to coincide with the school's "Character Counts" week--and this is a community of young people who share a lot of wonderful characteristics! 

Leaving Solvang behind, I drove back up north to the small beach town of Cayucos.  I've spent months down here over the course of my life; my grandparents lived here when I was young, and I love the place enough that I still pay frequent visits as a grown-up.  Over the years, I've seen the library move from a small room at the pier, to a former television shop on the city's main thoroughfare, to its new location on the site of the town's elementary school.  I was very happy to pay my first PROFESSIONAL visit to the Cayucos Library!

The Cayucos Library.

My last stop of the day was an evening event back down 101 a good ways, at the Santa Maria Library.  It was a party meant only for kids aged 7+ and their grown-ups--although several younger kids got stowed in!  The event was billed as "scary stories," but of course, EVERYONE knows that kids this age are scared of absolutely nothing!  Their parents, though, looked at times as if they had the goosebumps.  The young folks seemed to like the humor peppered throughout all of this supernatural creepiness, though--and several came up with their folks for photo-ops after the event--which made ME nervous!

The Santa Maria Library.  Yes, that IS a tree in the Children's Room!

By the way, you've got to check out the Santa Maria Library (I mean, if you ever find yourself within, say, 5 hours or so of the building): there's a cafe that has a large menu, is open 12 hours a day (more than the library itself), and even has an outdoor pickup window, so that you can grab a quick (or not-so-quick) snack outside while you wait to pick up some new books!  There's also a LARGE library shop, offering not just used books, but new books, stationary, gifts, supplies for the student or researcher... and other stuff, too!

Day 3: Atascadero Libary

The Atascadero Library.

I was so glad to be early for my storytelling event at the Atascadero Libary, because this turned out to be, at least on this day, one of those rare (to me) places where many of the attendees actually show up early!  The parents & children alike were raring to go!  What's more, when I asked for a show of hands of who had seen a storyteller before, most arms in the room went up.  It was a story-loving audience, so we were ALL appreciative!

Day 4: SLO Children's Museum & the Arroyo Grande Library

Several views around the San Luis Obispo Children's Museum.

My son & I spent many fun hours playing together at the San Luis Obispo Children's Museum when he was young--until the building was torn down.  Actually, they built a beautiful, brand-new facility on the same site, and this visit marked not only my first time being at the SLO institution in my professional capacity, but also my first opportunity to be inside the new building.  It's a wonderful, open construction, with indoor & outdoor spaces, and such an admirable variety of real-life and fantasy play opportunities.  I enjoyed sharing some fun, interactive stories & songs with the families there that morning.  After my program, one family approached me to let me know they'd seen me perform at Children's Fairyland, a frequent home stage of mine back up here in the SF Bay Area!  I loved that!  

The Arroyo Grande Library, with more of that wonderful book-themed furniture!

In the afternoon, I popped just a few short minutes up north to the Arroyo Grande Library.  Rebecca, the Youth Librarian, wanted to make sure everyone knew I'd be there: there were Storyteller John Weaver signs & flyers absolutely everywhere!  I performed right in the very middle of the library, so I had a captive audience (poor, unfortunate library patrons)!  As always, it's wonderful to see adult story listeners really seeming to enjoy what I do.  One of them asked me if I am an actor, and several families lined up to ask the librarian for books I had recommended--a very rewarding outcome!

Day 5: Paso Robles Library & Study Center
For the final day of my Central Coast storytelling tour, I got to visit two library facilities in Paso Robles: the main library, and its study center.  I told my spooky stories that afternoon to the school kids at the Study Center; this facility is a wonderful opportunity made available near a local school campus, for the city's children to spend time after school & get help on their homework, or just hang out together & relax.  I scared this group a little, made them laugh a lot--and then I moved on to the main library!

The Paso Robles City Library on the top, the Study Center below.

For my evening library event--my very final stop of this tour--I shared funny stories (with startling elements) for all ages.  I was very pleased to see a family who had been at my afternoon session come in for more of my "punishment!"  Another parent in the room reacted when it was announced I was from Fremont; so was she!  Lots of mobile folks.

My first professional visit to this very familiar area for me--and a favorite area of mine--was so much fun, I look forward to the opportunity to do it again.  And it does look as though I WILL be doing it again!  So if you know of any places in the area you think should host an appearance--whether schools, libraries, museums, zoos or whatever--please let them know about me, let me know about them, and when it happens, let your friends know there is something slightly ridiculous happening on the Central Coast!

From the Bay News, an article promoting October's storytelling events.