Several More Hours for Celebrating

Last year I wrote a blog that posted two days before the Story Center’s annual Storytelling Certificate Celebration (read Several Hours for Celebrating). This year I thought I’d write this blog after the Celebration, which took place on Saturday, December 6, at the Auditorium of the Woodneath Library Center, to see if what I described still rings true.

Held the first Saturday of December, the Certificate Celebration is a highlight of the Story Center’s annual calendar. People who have completed the Story Center’s Certificate Program, a series of twelve free programs about creating, developing, and sharing written or performed stories, are awarded certificates of merit and have opportunities to read or perform their original work. At this year’s event, the eighth, thirty-two certificates were awarded, thirteen to oral storytellers, nineteen to writers. 

As in previous years, the graduates’ stories represented a great range of experiences and imaginings. There were family stories featuring beloved relatives and road trips. There were personal stories about overcoming illness, about coping with grief, and about triumphing despite the challenges. And there were fantasy, science fiction, and Christian fiction. All of them communicated passionately by their tellers and authors to a supportive audience.     

As I snapped photographs of the graduates on stage after they shared their stories, it was clear, as in the past, that they had built a community during the many hours they had spent learning together and listening to each other, whether they had participated in programs in-person or online. 

2025 Written Storytelling Certificate Program Graduates. 

2025 Oral Storytelling Certificate Program Graduates. 

Again this year, the dedicated graduates and the engaged audience reconfirmed that stories matter.  Not just for their entertainment value, but also for what they can tell us about ourselves as well as about people with very different experiences.  This basic assumption helps to account for why the Story Center has awarded 164 certificates of merit to people completing the Certificate Program since 2018. 

Congratulations to all the storytellers who completed the Certificate Program this year! 

If you have a story you’re interested in creating, developing, or sharing, check out the Story Center website and let us know how we can help:  https://www.mymcpl.org/story-center. 

Mark Livengood
Story Center Director