Tuesday, December 8, 2009 – 6 PM

New York STORY Exchange (NYSE)
The Cornelia Street Cafe
29 Cornelia Street, NYC

Storytelling occurs the second Tuesday of the month

Curator/Host: Barbara Aliprantis

SPECIAL FORMAT: A night of cameos, including one by the illustrious curator/host of this long-running series, Barbara Aliprantis

This December eve gathering will feature a cornucopia of poignant, heartwarming stories, including The Christmas Truce (a WWI peace story) with a great message for modern times!

ERICA LANN-CLARK grew up listening to stories. Born on the eve of the Holocaust, baby Erica escaped with her Viennese Jewish family across an ocean and landed in Brooklyn’s cultural hotbed. Her immigrant mama and papa spun passionate tales to bring their history alive with tears and gales of laughter. Everything that happened was seed for a future story. These memories inspire Erica's powerful stories. She tells to honor the past and bless the future.

KURT GERSTMANN was smuggled out of Germany through a network of Catholic safe houses to the Holy Land prior to WWII. At the age of 14 he joined the Hagana Underground and at 16 joined the just born Israeli Army. After Medical Studies in Switzerland, he immigrated to the US where he spent his adult life as a Pathologist in the NYC area. His stories are drawn from that background and are in turn funny and poignant.

JIM HAWKINS, beloved Irish-American Storyteller/Actor/Musician and gifted teacher, charms audiences and lifts our spirits with his stories and songs, including memories of his childhood spent in the Midlands of Ireland and on the stoops and concrete sidewalks of Astoria, Queens.

ELIZABETH ROWE, storyteller/actor/writer and teacher, performs in English and French! Her repertoire includes a rich blend of family stories, world folktales, myths, legends and literary stories. Tonight she’ll tell her Scottish father's first hand account of The Christmas Truce (a WWI peace story). "'Twas Christmas in the trenches where the frost, so bitter hung.
The frozen fields of France were warmed as songs of peace were sung..." - Christmas in The Trenches, Words & Music by John McCutcheon

November 10, 2009
Featured Tellers:
Lonnie Harrington & Ruben Gonzalez
Cameo: Rivka Widerman

LONNIE HARRINGTON has been telling stories for as long as he can remember. He has also been singing, playing guitar, and hitting some kind of percussion instrument in just about every type of musical style one can think of since the 1950’s, performing around the United States including Florida, the Northeastern United States, eastern Canada and New Mexico. Born in Tallahassee, Florida of African, Seminole, Cherokee, Choctaw, and Shawnee ancestry, Lonnie has researched African-Native American relations since 1972 and is the author of Both Sides of the Water: Essays on African-Native American Interactions. Lonnie lives in the New York City area, working as an arts administrator, musician, lecturer AND storyteller!

RUBEN GONZALEZ, a remarkable classical guitarist and composer, calls himself a “cantautor” who tells stories thru music and song. Born in San Juan, Argentina, where he studied classical guitar, Ruben combines Rock en Español, bossa nova, the Latin American popular song with his own rhythmic style with novel harmonies. His lyrics touch upon social issues and current events as well as personal experiences. www.rubengonzalez.info

RIVKA WIDERMAN is a real Renaissance woman who has worn many hats, including professional storyteller, professor of law, Hebrew/Yiddish translator, workshop facilitator, and visual artist. A native of Brooklyn, now living in Manhattan, Rivka draws on her extraordinarily diverse talents, whether she’s painting a picture, telling a family story, a folktale or really big fib.