The Tejas Storytelling Association (TSA) developed this grant to provide TSA Affiliate Guilds financial assistance with new storytelling programming in their community. Applications for this opportunity are due November 30th each year. The amount is $300 per grant, and TSA will award two grants per year to two separate guilds.
Download Mission Grant Information
Download Mission Grant Application
In 2016, San Antonio Storytellers Association (SASA) received a TSA Mission Grant to increase the publicity for their Story Tellabration!™ family event, which is not the same thing as their regular Tellabration. The event was held at a beautiful San Antonio Library branch location. The Guild received a city grant to pay a featured teller and six other paid storytellers. The city grant did not cover printing. Through the Mission Grant, TSA will supply the funds to get the word out for this year’s event.
Salado Storytelling Program
By Gary Whitaker
This year in 2018 TAGS (The Tarrant Area Guild of Storytellers) returned to the small Texas town of Salado for our second Annual Storytelling program with the help of the 2017 TSA Grant.
Jackie Mills whom invited TAGS to Salado for the first time last year was also interested in seeing if it would be possible to start a Storytelling guild in Salado. This year Jackie who also runs the Salado Table Rock Theater made sure that our event received plenty of press through the local papers.
TAGS members held a workshop at the Salado library where we were joined by three Salado locals. Also attending were two prominent storytellers, Consuelo Samarripa who lives in Harker Heights, and Carolina Quiroga-Stultz along with her husband Spencer recently moved to Killeen. All five participating TAGS members shared personal stories and ideas about storytelling. Our storytelling visitors also joined in and soon we had all 3 visitors sharing personal stories. At the end of the meeting Jaye McLaughlin led those attending to consider starting a storytelling guild in Salado by setting up a monthly meeting day and location. With Carolina and Consuelo interested and driving to be there, I think they are in good hands.
That same night from 7 to 9pm, TAGS held its 2nd annual storytelling concert at the back of the Salado Table Rock Stage. Last year we had around 12 in attendance with a mix of kids and adults. This year we doubled our audience participation with 30 in attendance including Salado’s mayor and a local pastor. All walked away with very positive feelings regarding this storytelling concert.
Storytellers from TAGS who performed at the workshop and at the concert were Jaye McLaughlin, Fred E Peters, Sandra Mcgee, Decee Cornish and myself Gary Whitaker. We told a wide range of stories from the old west including a few folk tales and I threw in a liar’s tale for good measure. To close out the program Decee Cornish asked for audience participation in singing the song ‘We Shall Overcome’ which had just recently been released into the public domain. The concert was a success. The folks that came in, perhaps not knowing what to expect, left with smiles and good words from all. All TAGS members were in great form and fun was had by all.
Many thanks to the TSA Board for giving TAGS the grant to enable a bit of reimbursement as we reach out into communities with story and create some ground work to be carried into the future.