Press release from Big Brothers Big Sisters of WNC:
On Friday, November 17, local nonprofit Big Brothers Big Sisters of Buncombe County joins with Attic Salt Theatre Company to present Big Stories From The Attic—a fundraiser for both organizations featuring regional professional storytellers David Joe Miller, Betsy Puckett and Raymond Christian. Slated to take place at Attic Salt’s Theatre’s location at The Mills at Riverside (2002 Riverside Drive, Ste. 42-O Asheville 28804) Big Stories kicks off at 6:30 PM with tapas donated by Verbena Events and Catering and optional brews donated by Sierra Nevada, and will then segue into stories from each of the three distinguished tellers that rest on the subject of their personal experiences with mentors throughout their lives. Tickets are $50 with 100% of the proceeds going to BBBS and Attic Salt.
The three storytellers featured are each donating their performances for the benefit of Big Brothers Big Sisters and Attic Salt Theatre Co.
Locally-based and nationally acclaimed storyteller David Joe Miller says that storytelling and positive community impact go hand in hand: “Every Big and every Little has a story. Every family, every mother and father and every child,” says Miller. A 30 year veteran of professional storytelling and founder of the nation’s oldest storytellers guild in Jonesborough, TN, Miller’s company David Joe Miller Presents is the event’s headline sponsor. “By sharing stories we learn more about each other, we become friends and we grow to appreciate the human experiences that we may not be familiar with in others,” says Miller.
As far as storytelling as a force for positive change goes, in the BBBS program, Bigs and Littles often come from different backgrounds, subcultures, neighborhoods and life experiences. After being matched, Bigs often report after that not only have they made a lifelong friend, but that their relationship with their Little is also a bridge that connects two often disparate parts of this community which may not otherwise interact or have the opportunity to build a shared story—let alone call each other family.
“Storytelling is the very heart of the human experience and we can’t help but hear some of our own stories in the words of others. Building intimacy, compassion and respect with storytelling helps to bring about the positive change that [BBBS] speaks of.”
Big Stories From The Attic is sponsored by David Joe Miller Presents, Sierra Nevada, Verbena Events and Catering and United Federal Credit Union. For more information and ticket sales, visit: bbbswnc.org/big-stories or call 828.253.1470.
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