Talking Gourds: “Stories & Poems,” at Lone Cone Library, 3/20!

16 Mar Talking Gourds: “Stories & Poems,” at Lone Cone Library, 3/20!

The Lone Cone Library has teamed up with the Talking Gourds Poetry Project to host a “Stories & Poems” performance series on the third Wednesday of each month starting beginning March 20, 6p.m. The debut program features Norwood river runners Sheila and Craig Grother.

For more information, text 970-729-0220 or email Goodtimes at art@tellurideinstitute.org or visit the Talking Gourds website: www.tellurideinstitute.org/talking-gourds

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Norwood river runners Sheila and Craig Grother will be the featured guests at Telluride Institute’s Talking Gourds Stories & Poems series at the Lone Cone Library in March.

The free performance starts at 6 p.m. on the third Wednesday of this month, March 20. It’s followed by a passing of the gourd, where community members are encouraged to share stories and poems – their own, or others’ that they know and like.

“In addition to years of public service for both federal and local governments, Sheila and Craig Grother have been premiere river runners and have many stories to tell about the rafting life,” said Talking Gourds director Art Goodtimes.

Craig and Sheila Grother started their rafting and kayaking adventures on the Main and Middle Fork of the Salmon River when they moved to Idaho in the mid-1970s. From there they found themselves in Nevada, then eventually moved to Norwood with their two young children in 1989.

In Norwood, Craig continued his career as a wildlife biologist for the US Forest Service. Sheila joined the Norwood Fire Department as an Intermediate EMT and developed and managed the Invasive Species Program for San Miguel County. They soon enlisted in the ‘Norwood Navy’ and continued to pursue their passion for adventures with friends and family on the wild rivers and canyons of the Salmon, Green, Yampa, San Juan and Colorado, including seven trips down the Grand Canyon.

Stories & Poems follows a simple format. There will be a performance of a featured storyteller or poet, followed by a question and answer session and then a Gourd Circle. At that point, everyone present will be invited to tell a story, perform a poem (an original or a favorite written by someone else), read a short section of prose or simply pass the gourd on to the next person.