Palm Beach County Storytellers take on the holidays! Here's how to join us at our live event
An 8-year-old in the 1970s who remembers getting Pong, his very first video game. A girl in Brooklyn whose favorite Christmas memory comes from the year she worked as a handyman with her dad. A Thanksgiving hostess whose home plumbing takes center stage at the big event.
Want to hear more?
Then come to The Palm Beach Post Storytellers Project show on Nov. 16. It starts at 7 p.m. at the Lake Park Black Box theater. Get tickets by clicking this link.
The theme of the show is "Holidays" and the audience will hear seven people tell short, first-person stories about their most cherished holiday gifts, their most catastrophic holiday meals, and why those memories loom so large.
The show is the third to be staged this year by the Storytellers Project, a national USA TODAY network program based on a simple truth: There are experiences we all share and we grow closer — as people and as a community — when we share them. In short, we find common ground.
More from our September show: Palm Beach Post's Storytellers on Food & Family: 7 stories show we grow closer at the table
Hear stories from our first event: Palm Beach Post's Storytellers on Growing Up: 5 stories show we all grow closer as we share
To that end, the project seeks stories from across Palm Beach County on themes common to everyone. Volunteer tellers are paired with Palm Beach Post "coaches" to help prepare their story for stage, and then share their stories in their own words at live shows that are open to the public.
Our most recent show in September drew more than 200 people to hear tales about "Food & Family."
Even though the past two years have changed our sense of connection and normalcy, The Post hopes you’ll join us for an evening of laughs, life experiences and good, old-fashioned community as we kick off the holiday season.
Get tickets by clicking this link.
Here are the storytellers at the November show:
Minnesota native recalls magical hand-painted window displays
John Baudhuin remembers Christmas in suburban Minnesota by his father's artistic "stained-glass" window display: He meticulously painted the designs straight on the family's street-facing picture window each year.
On the first night after he completed his annual masterpiece, the family would turn on all the lights, put on their coats and huddle outside in the snow to admire the faux-stained glass window.
It wasn't until recently that Baudhuin found what he believes may be the only photo taken during the many special years of his father's creations. He'll share the story of what that photo and his father's creativity means to him.
When the kitchen went cold: Losing a parent meant rebuilding a life
Holidays were always brightly decorated and loudly celebrated in Jacquie Stephens' family in Auburn, New York, and her mother was the center of all the magic.
That was until her mother was diagnosed with melanoma. The kitchen grew cold, and holidays didn't feel the same after her mother died six weeks before Jacquie's eighth Christmas.
She'll tell the story of losing her parents early in life and why celebrating holidays with joy now feels like slowly rebuilding her life's foundation.
Massive Thanksgiving in a brand new house? What could go wrong!
Amy Terwilleger had just closed on a new house in South Florida with her husband when they decided to host a massive Thanksgiving dinner with both her spirited, Jewish side of the family and her husband's subdued, religious relatives.
They quickly furnished the place, told everyone to bring anyone they wanted and welcomed repeats of the same side dishes. "The more the merrier!" they said.
In short, her brand new home's plumbing didn't agree.
She'll share how the first Thanksgiving in the new house became one of the most memorable.
Holidays with a handyman: A Brooklynite remembers her father
When Rosalind Neilen was growing up in Brooklyn, her father worked until 1 a.m. most nights, leaving her to come home from school to an empty house. She doesn't remember many Christmas celebrations, but one looms large in her mind.
She went along with her father to a job he had as a handyman on Christmas day. He laid out his tools perfectly in front of him and when he asked her to hand him one, she froze.
Instead of grabbing it himself and ignoring her, Rosalind's father stopped the job and carefully explained every tool to her and what it was used for. It was a moment of connection and joy on a holiday that sometimes felt just like any other day.
She'll tell the story of how she clings to that memory of her father, and chooses to remember the good things instead of the bad.
Pong: The Instant Sensation
Jonathan Tully's mother made his house feel like the North Pole on Christmas Day when he was growing up in the 1970s. One year, amid the new bicycles and board games and the obligatory socks and underwear, Tully received a gift that would change how he spent his free time for the rest of his life.
He became the proud owner of his first video game: Pong.
He'll tell the nostalgia-drenched story of sneaking away to play the video game, how it became a sensation in his household and why the video game forever changed his life and what it means to relax and unwind.
Finding religion again through Seder and friendship
When Linda Grosz became an empty-nester in Miami, she started to think about how she'd meet new people and how she wanted to spend her time.
She'd nearly lost hope in religion when she signed up for a Passover seder meal on a whim in West Palm Beach. At the table, she met a tremendous group of women that gave her something to look forward to.
She'll share the story about the importance of people, connection through shared histories and traditions, and what it means to be a part of a community.
Unlikely visits: Palm Beach Post Columnist recalls his father's last days
Christmas 1992 was a sad time for Palm Beach Post columnist Frank Cerabino.
His father lay sick in a New York hospital with a case of leukemia that would prove terminal.
Yet two surprise visits — one by a person known worldwide — made his final days remarkable. Cerabino's story will recall those days in bittersweet detail.
How to go: The Palm Beach Post Storytellers Project
Theme: "Holidays"
When: 7 p.m., Nov. 16
Where: The Lake Park Black Box theater. 700 Park Ave., Lake Park, Florida. 33403
Tickets: Available at https://storytellersproject.enmotive.com/events/register/storytellers-project-palm-beach-fl
Note: Tickets will not be sold at the door.
Mark yourself as "going" on Facebook to get updates on the show!
Katherine Kokal is a journalist covering education at The Palm Beach Post. You can reach her at kkokal@pbpost.com. Help support our work, subscribe today!
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Palm Beach County storytellers: Get tickets for our holiday show Nov. 16
