The workshop will give attention to “overlooked” stories, ones that people don’t feel are important, but which actually have value, certainly to the teller but perhaps having local and regional historical value as well.

“We all have those stories,” Weaver says. “My goal in the workshop will include identifying the ‘what next’ with such stories – how to get them into recorded or written form so that they endure.”

The Park Rapids Lakes Area Arts Council is sponsoring the free workshop as entries are being accepted for the Great American Story storytelling contest to be held in September. “We hope workshop participants might consider entering their stories in the contest,” says Steve Maanum, who is coordinating this year’s Great American Story. He was a finalist in the 2016 contest and the winner in 2017.

Weaver grew up on a farm near Park Rapids. Thanks to some great English teachers he took an interest in writing. He graduated from the University of Minnesota with a B.A. in English, and met his wife Rose, in a Shakespeare class. They headed to California where he completed his Master’s in Creative Writing at Stanford.

His short story collections and novels are well known to local readers. Red Earth, White Earth, Weaver’s debut novel, was published by Simon & Schuster and produced as a CBS television movie. A Gravestone Made of Wheat won awards, including the Minnesota Book Award for Fiction. The title story was produced as the independent feature film, Sweet Land. Sweet Land: The Musical debuted in early 2017.

Weaver has also written several successful novels for young adults, including Memory Boy, which  is used widely in schools across the United States, and in 2016 was produced as a full length opera by the Minnesota Opera.

In addition to writing, Weaver also taught creative writing and literature at Bemidji State University, where he and Rose live on the Mississippi River. He still writes full time and travels widely, speaking at schools and conventions on all matters related to writing and reading, literature and literacy.

For the past two years Weaver has served as a judge for the Great American Story contest in Park Rapids where the first place storyteller will receive $1,000. The second place storyteller will receive $500 and each of the other two finalists will receive $250.

For entry information and rules for the Great American Story, please go to www.thegreatamericanstory.org. Entries no more than 10 minutes in length may be posted online or recorded on a CD or flash drive and mailed. Entry fee is $10. Entries must be posted on the website or, if mailed, postmarked no later than June 28.

The workshop and storytelling contest are made possible, in part, by the voters of Minnesota, through a grant from the Region 2 Arts Council, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund.

Stories are now being invited from Minnesota storytellers. Judges will narrow the selections to four finalists who will perform the best-told stories at an event Saturday, Sept. 28 at Calvary Lutheran Church in Park Rapids.

Audience members have commented: “Park Rapids is such a thriving artistic community … Bravo!” “Sharing something from the heart and making it real make for a powerful art.” “It takes a special person to tell stories and keep us interested.”

At the public performance, the audience will vote to select the top two storytellers among the four finalists. The two semi-finalists will be given a prompt and tell a 10-minute extemporaneous story. The audience will then select the winner.

First place storyteller will receive an award of $1,000. Second place will receive $500, and each of the other two finalists will receive $250. Lodging arrangements will be made if needed.

Entries no more than 10 minutes in length may be posted online or recorded on a CD or flash drive and mailed. Entry fee is $10. Entries must be posted on the website or, if mailed, postmarked no later than June 28. Finalists will be notified Aug. 19.

The Park Rapids Lakes Area Arts Council serves as an umbrella organization for 16 arts and cultural organizations in the greater Park Rapids area. Representatives from these arts groups, along with individual arts project champions, meet monthly to coordinate arts calendars, share information and incubate interest in new arts projects. PRLAAC also maintains a website – www.prlaac.org – and sponsors successful projects including Art Leap and Noon Hour Concerts.

This activity is made possible by the voters of Minnesota, through a grant from the Region 2 Arts Council, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund.

Searing received a check for $1,000.

The audience chose the winner after an initial round of storytelling by the WonderWeavers duo of Tina Rohde from Eden Prairie and Colleen Shaskin of Minnetonka, Paulette Friday of Alexandria and Rose van der Berg of Bloomington. The WonderWeavers won second place and were awarded $500. Friday and Van der Berg each received $250.

In addition to the two rounds of storytelling, Richard Rousseau, St. Paul, also engaged the audience as ballots were being counted. Rousseau is Minnesota liaison for the National Storytelling Network. Mike Carroll served as emcee and presented the awards.

The Park Rapids Lakes Area Arts Council sponsored the event with grants from the Northlands Storytelling Network, Itasca-Mantrap Roundup Funds and a a grant from the Region 2 Arts Council funded by an appropriation from the Minnesota State Legislature with money from the State’s general fund.

For more information on the Great American Story, go to thegreatamericanstory.org.

The live performance is scheduled at 7 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 22 at Calvary Lutheran Church, Park Rapids.

Finalists are Paulette Friday of Alexandria, the tandem team of Tina Rohde of Eden Prairie and Colleen Shaskin of Minnetonka, Susan Searing of Minneapolis and Rose van der Berg of Bloomington. The five will tell their winning stories and the audience will vote for the top two. Those two will be given a prompt and tell an impromptu 10-minute story. The audience votes again, and the winner gets the crown. And the prize money.

Master Storyteller Richard Rousseau will once again entertain while ballots are being counted. Rousseau has been an active participant in the Midwest performance community for the past 50 years as an actor, director, playwright, and as a storyteller. His interest in storytelling was prompted by a desire to engage his audience without the aid of scripting or rehearsal. For more than 25 years he has been refining his craft in a wide variety of settings in Minnesota and across the country. Rousseau is one of the founders of the Northstar Storytelling League – predecessor to Story Arts of MN – and is currently the Minnesota liaison for the National Storytelling Network.

This year’s emcee will be Mike Carroll, a long-time resident of Park Rapids. He is now retired from 35 years with the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources and focuses on family, friends and community projects. He is an active member of the Park Rapids Lions and Northern Light Opera Company community theater.

Arrive early and enjoy listening to Lori Goulet Reich singing and playing folk, country, blues and traditional music.

“We scheduled the inaugural Great American Story for the weekend of Park Rapids Art Leap,” says Paul Dove of the Park Rapids Lakes Area Arts Council. “After a day of enjoying driving from studio to studio, we wanted an event where locals and visitors could sit, relax and listen to a good yarn, told by amateur and professional storytellers.”

In addition to the first prize of $1,000, first runner-up receives $500 and the other two receive $250. “We acknowledge and thank local and regional businesses and organizations who donated to the Great American Story,” says Steve Maanum, coordinator. “Their support and a grant from Region 2 Arts Council made this event possible. We hope this event supports our determination to make Park Rapids an interesting place to live and an entertainment and cultural destination.”

Tickets will be available at the door: $10 per person; students 18 and under free. For more information, go to www.thegreatamericanstory.org.

    This activity is made possible, in part, by a grant from the Region 2 Arts Council funded by an appropriation from the Minnesota State Legislature with money from the State’s general fund.