Walk for Amber StorySlam, May 16
We are excited to invite the community to an evening of memorable, heartfelt, personal, funny and entertaining stories at the Robert H. Gibson River Garden on Saturday, May 16. Doors will open at 6:30PM and stories will be told from 7:00PM – 9:00PM.
Admission is $10, cash only.
The event will be hosted by Hillary Boone, a member of the Vermont Comedy Divas, who returns to the Robert H. Gibson River Garden for a third time! Hillary is a Vermont based stand up comedian and storyteller. She has told stories at the Moth storySLAM and performed stand up comedy across Vermont and New England. Hillary’s comedy has been described as quirky, likeable, smart, and even “simply delightful.” She is the newest member of the Vermont Comedy Divas and Divas Do Good, the country’s only all female touring stand up comedy troupe.
The format of the StorySlam comes from the tradition of the Poetry Slam and has been popularized by the NPR show The Moth as well as MassMouth and other amateur storytelling events. A StorySlam is a competitive storytelling event in which interested storytellers put their names in a hat and hope to be picked to tell a 5 minute true story related to the theme for the evening. The Walk for Amber StorySlam theme is Remembering. The stories will be judged by a volunteer panel of six judges in 3 teams related to the quality of the story and whether it illustrated the theme in a meaningful way.
The theme of Remembering was selected in part to be accessible to a wide variety of storytellers and to convey the overarching purpose of the scholarship fund as a memorial. The concept of Remembering, an adverb, allows one to consider both the process of recalling as well as the subject that is being remembered. We hope this theme will invite a wide variety of interesting and fun personal stories.
If you would like to tell a story, the rules of StorySlam include:
- Stories must be original and preferably based on one’s own experience.
- Notes and props are not allowed.
- Five minute time limit with a 1 minute grace period but points will be lost if the story significantly exceeds 5 minutes.
- Judges selected prior to the event will rate each story on a 1 to 10 scale based on the content, presentation and whether or not the story is reflective of the theme.
- Winner(s) will receive a prize to be determined.
The Walk for Amber is an annual series of fundraising events including the Walk for Amber walkathon, raffle and dinner in support of the Amber Bernier Scholarship. This is the tenth anniversary of the Walk for Amber fundraiser. All proceeds from these events go into a scholarship fund. Annually the scholarship committee reviews applications and Amber’s parents personally interview all applicants who are generally but not exclusively BUHS graduating students. Scholarships have been given to graduates of Leland and Gray, Austine School and Hinsdale High School. To date, 25 scholarship recipients have been awarded over $16,000 to pursue post-secondary educational and training opportunities. The first Amber awards went to students following the same path as Amber was on, fashion design and cosmetology. Over the years, based on Amber’s interest in the underserved and less recognized vocations, the scholarship committee has selected recipients entering the fields of early childhood education and human services. Students who have overcome adversity appeal to the committee who strive to honor Amber’s memory.
Amber Marie Bernier was a 17-year-old BUHS senior who died just prior to her graduation on March 3, 2004. She was beloved student remembered for her beauty and style. Though not particularly outspoken, she did not hesitate to advocate for the underdog or reach out to someone in need. She was active in student government and the career center, worked in the community and was devoted to her family.