Do you have an amusing &/or inspiring personal experience story to share with neighbors and local story fans?
Flathead Story Concerts curators Glenn and Barbara Schiffman of Whitefish are seeking new local storytellers to coach and support via an upcoming spring FVCC course and live events.
In March they return to Flathead Valley College’s Continuing Education program with a new edition of their signature storycrafting course, now called Public Speaking for Storytellers. It teaches an effective 4-part structure for creating 7-minute (1,000 words) personal experience essays -- like those heard on The Moth Radio Hour or PBS’s ‘Stories From the Stage’ TV series. Students will also learn and practice simple public speaking skills to make their stories memorable when told live.
Their original 2023 “Tell Us Your Story” 8-week class culminated in a highly acclaimed live event at FVCC on 4/27/23 to celebrate National Tell-A-Story Day. This year, National Tell-A-Story Day 2026 is being celebrated at venues around the US again on April 27th. Save the date to join the Schiffmans at FVCC where their 2026 spring story students will share new personal stories with friends and story fans at a free public “story concert.”
More details: https://FlatheadStoryConcerts.wootick.com
To be included as a Teller on 4/27, interested story students will need to prepare by attending the FVCC course (meets 3 Saturdays 3/21, 4/11 and 4/18, 10am-4pm) where the Schiffmans will guide and coach them to write and then practice their true stories. Class is limited to 10; cost is $149/person. No previous writing or public speaking experience required; just an idea for a true story you’d like to tell.
Register at: https://campusce.fvcc.edu/fvcc/course/course.aspx?catId=18
“Our desire to support the interest in live storytelling in the Flathead expanded after our 2023 Story Day event at FVCC,” recalls Barbara, who previously co-founded two Toastmasters chapters for writers. “Everyone who attended wanted more live stories. Since then, hundreds of listeners have heard personal stories from dozens of local Tellers we’ve coached for our Flathead Story Concerts, held so far around the Valley at three local libraries and Sacred Waters Brewing. We also curated and co-hosted a fundraiser for The Making Place, a crafters non-profit, last year at White Raven Winery.”
Glenn has told true stories from his 1970s rock’n’roll trucker years and other memorable experiences at live story events in Spokane, Los Angeles and the Flathead, including several of CRYJ’s annual “Not Your Average Love Story” fundraisers.
A published essayist, author, and FVCC-CE writing teacher of memoirs and autobiographical-fiction, Glenn adds: “We’re glad that FVCC asked Barb and me to teach this course again so we can prepare more Flathead Valley tellers for live story events. We love hearing their personal experiences which always surprise and inspire us. These are the stories we tell at the Thanksgiving table -- and one of our Tellers even told one at her sister’s wedding in Zimbabwe, to rave reviews! They’re about where we’ve been, where we’re going, and what we’ve learned that’s memorable and helpful to others.”
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For more info on Flathead Story Concerts 2026 events or the spring “Public Speaking for Storytellers” course at FVCC, email the Schiffmans at story23fvcc@gmail.com or visit their website at: https://FlatheadStoryConcerts.wootick.com.