Show & Tell for Grownups

Thu, 09/11/2014 - 11:58am

When: May 10, 2014 at the Downtown Library

Do you have a special item at home that you would like to share with others? Something that has a particular story that is meaningful to you – or something that reveals a bit about Ann Arbor’s past? We all remember bringing a treasured possession to school and telling our friends why we love it so much. As adults, we have many more treasures today. Consider a photo or letter, a family heirloom, an object from a job or trip, an ancient artifact, a work of art, new or old, that has meaning to you. It’s the story that counts.

Each participant for this event took five minutes to tell the story behind the object. There’s no reading or performing; this is amateur storytelling.

Show & Tell events for adults are sweeping the nation, with recent publicity of the trend in the Wall Street Journal. Described as The Moth Radio Hour meets Antiques Roadshow, these events focus on connecting people through their personal histories.

The local organizers—Janet Ogle-Mater, Chuck Newman, and Stephanie Kadel Taras—are members of the Association of Personal Historians, which promotes Show & Tells in May to celebrate Personal History Awareness Month. Dozens of communities in the U.S., Canada, and Australia hosted Show & Tell events for grown-ups in May.