Story Wagon to Tour Outer Hebrides

26 May 2022 at 10:11:33

To mark the 14th year of their Your Stories campaign - Scottish Book Trust is hosting a week-long story-making celebration in Barra and Uist from Monday 31 May to Friday 3 June, in partnership with the Comhairle's library service, Western Isles Libraries.

The Community Campfires residencies will take place over five days, and people in the community will be supported to tell the stories from their lives that matter to them. The residencies are supported by EventScotland as part of Scotland's Year of Stories 2022.

The focal point of the celebration will be the magnificent Story Wagon, which will stop off at key areas between Barra and Berneray over the week, for people to visit, create and share their own stories by Luke Winter, Navigation Officer of the Story Wagon, along with film-maker Dòmhnall Eòghainn MacKinnon. 

All members of the community, of all ages, are invited to visit the Story Wagon while to travels from Barra to Berneray to take part in creative writing, traditional storytelling and story sharing activities.

Along with the Story Wagon, there is also the opportunity to sign up for a storytelling workshop which will take place at Claddach Kirkibost in North Uist on Tuesday 31 May.  The session will be led by Paul Bristow and will help participants create and craft their own stories - and help them to share them with others, if they would like to!

Paul Bristow is a digital storyteller and book and comic writer who has extensive experience in working with groups of all ages to help people create stories and comics based on their own characters, with projects exploring everything from issues around bullying to Gaelic language superheroes.  For those who aren't able to make the full day workshop on the Tuesday, Paul will also be available on Wednesday 31 May and Thursday 1 June, for drop-in sessions.

A visit to Uist would not be complete without including the mobile library, Lachaidh and mobile driver, Donald Ewen Morrison.  Rachel Kennedy, local actress and podcaster, will be joining DE and Lachaidh as they go on the road to chat to folk as they go, and capture unique local stories as they go.

Liniclate Library will also host a storytelling session with local author and poet, Ian Stephen, on Thursday 2 June.

The week's residency will culminate in a wonderful Community Campfire celebration at Berneray Community Hall on Friday 3 June. It will be a chance for everyone to gather and share the stories they have created over the week.  The Story Wagon will be at the hall for the day and writer Katharine Macfarlane will be on hand to work with anyone interested to create a Community Poem together.  Katharine will also be available to help people prepare their stories, for them to share at the campfire

All these activities are free of charge and open to all! 

Programme Details

Story Wagon Tour

10am to 3pm every day

Tell Your Own Story: Digital Storytelling Workshop and Drop-In Sessions

Claddach Kirkibost

Ian Stephen, Storyteller

Liniclate Library, Thursday 2 June at 7pm

Final Community Campfire Celebration

Friday 3 June 2022, Berneray Community Hall, Borve, Berneray

Contacts

• Gordon Connelly, Scottish Book Trust, gordon.connelly@scottishbooktrust.com
• Kathleen Milne, Western Isles Libraries, kathleen.milne@cne-siar.gov.uk, 01851 822790