To honor the creative ways in which Anchorage’s different communities tell their stories, Keys to Life has held two storytelling festivals. Be sure to join our mailing list to find out about future opportunities!
Storytelling Festivals
Since the early days of humanity, knowledge has been bequeathed through stories. The artist who drew the chase of a bison on the walls of Lascaux was telling a story. Perhaps early humans learned from this story a new hunting technique or developed a ritual that later became a tradition. But they would have certainly learned something that pushed their lives to a new stage.
Stories engage us emotionally and help us take new steps. Stories speak to the rise of civilization and chant their collapse long after they are gone. They give our lives meaning by explaining us who we are, and they help us learn from people who are not here anymore. Stories teach deep realities in a humble way. That is why they are at the core of every culture.
However, stories take different shapes in different cultures. Chinese people tell their stories through shadow puppets. Samoans dance them; every movement of their hands has a meaning. Native Alaskans dance their stories to the rhythm of their drums. West Africans sing their stories. Hmong people embroider them in their story cloths. And Middle Eastern Arabs build poems with them.
Keys to Life has sponsored two very popular Storytelling Festivals, each featuring Anchorage community members who shared their personal lives, as well as professional storytellers from a variety of cultures.
“This was an amazing idea with so much put into it! I was really impressed with the layout. I loved the activities. I appreciate how positive you are with them. I will recommend this camp to others. It was a good experiences for them!”
Camp Kaleidoscope
Camp Kaleidoscope was a five-day camp for young people ages seven to fourteen. Thirty-one students enrolled to participate in Anchorage’s first cross-cultural immersion camp for kids. It was designed to bring understanding among emerging cultures in Anchorage. The camp provided opportunities for young people to learn about the unique qualities of our many cultures through the arts. These classes were Samoan dance and language, African-American Story Time, World Music Percussion, Cultural Expression through Photography, Alaska Native dance, African-American Drama and Music, American Folk Music and cooking classes (African, Mexican, Norwegian, French). This was a success with eleven diverse instructors sharing their culture with our students.
How do we build a meaningful cross-cultural community in Anchorage? The Cultural Summit helped participants deepen their understanding of others and Anchorage’s demographic picture as a whole, and helped integrate a cohesive voice related to diversity.
Anchorage Cultural Summit
The Anchorage Cultural Summit brought together people from all over the city to discuss how to make our community a more welcoming and caring place. The one-day Anchorage Cultural Summit focused on expanding the voice of individuals who are underrepresented in community dialogue and policy, by bringing together a cross-cultural and inter-generational group of individuals to brainstorm innovative solutions and actions towards creating a successful community for all. Deliverables from the Summit were a written evaluation report and a documentary video. These deliverables are shared with community members of Anchorage and Alaska. They continue to be used by the working and planning committees to inform a separately-funded Phase II community action plan. It is our vision to engage individuals to acknowledge and harness the power of our uniqueness to create an inclusive community.