O.O.P.S! Is Known For Its Events!

On April 30, May 1 and 2, 2010 we will be holding our twenty-fourth Annual Spring Conference in Mount Vernon, Ohio. It promises to be better than ever - entertaining, enlightening, loaded with creativity and how-tos and, most of all, FUN!

Entertainment will include stories presented by many of the finest storytellers in Ohio, Illinois, Indiana, New York, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, California and Michigan. Enlightenment will be rampant in seven different workshops. Creativity and how-tos will be shared by all. Note that all the buildings and spaces being used are handicapped accessible!

Socializing will include lots of food, entertainment, interactive games for getting to know each other, a get acquainted reception, story swaps and much, much more.

For these were teaching stories that took the place of punishment or scolding, showing her the values that her people respect and wanted to pass on to her.

Her love of stories and culture set her on a path to listen and learn and share the stories--to give people a clearer understanding of the often misunderstood, often invisible, cultures of the First Nations of North America. The product of a “mixed” background that is urban Chicago and rural Texas, Internet and ancient teachers, elders’ teachings and university classrooms —Dovie began telling stories “publicly” while teaching literature and writing at an urban high school in Cleveland.

So, she began telling those first-heard old Indian stories--stories about making choices--stories that could become a blueprint for a personal value system.

As a winner of the Parents’ Choice Gold Award, Storytelling World Honors Award, the Audiofile Award and the American Library Association/Booklist Editor’s Choice Award for her recordings of traditional Native stories, Wopila: A Giveaway and Lessons from the Animal People, Dovie has been described as a “valuable resource for multicultural education” who “skillfully portrays story characters in a way that is so vivid it creates animated pictures in the listener’s mind.” Her latest recording, “Fireside Tales: More Lessons from the Animal People”, features the singing of, Micky Sickles, (Oneida) in stories and songs of the Iroquois and Eastern Woodlands, and has recently been chosen for an ALA Notable Recording Award and Pegasus Award.

The Board is now soliciting workshop proposals. If you would like to present a workshop, please send a one-page outline by October 16, 2009 to the 2010 Conference Chair, Bizzie Vunderink, 1430 State Rt. 603, Ashland, OH 44805; (419) 289-TALE (8253). Feel free to append supporting material, such as brochures or resumes. Presenters receive free Conference Registration, an honorarium and invaluable statewide exposure.

Proposals will be selected based on the following criteria:

• Quality of workshop based on description
• Credentials and reputation of presenter
• Ability of the workshop to complement the offerings of the featured teller
• Contrast to workshops of recent years
• Topics requested in previous years' evaluations (some recent suggestions included environmental stories, improvisation, creating participation stories, and the business aspects of being a storyteller)
• Geographic balance

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