The Howl Story SLAM presented by NCPR and the Adirondack Center for Writing

(Apr 22, 2019) Deirdre Loftus made some memorable connections while birding. Hint, it wasn't with the birds. She told her story live on stage at The Howl Grand Slam, December 1, 2018 at Pendragon Theatre in Saranac Lake, NY. The theme of the evening was "a fish out of water."

(Mar 11, 2019) Some friends are worth the extra effort. Even if they nearly burn down the mess hall. Jim Howard told his poignant story of friendship and a school camp outing on stage at The Howl Grand Slam, December 1, 2018 at Pendragon Theatre in Saranac Lake, NY. The theme of the evening was "a fish out of water."

(Feb 25, 2019) Changing continents is hard enough when you travel, imagine moving from one to another and back. You might wonder who you are. Noel Carmichael told her tale of discombobulation on stage at the The Howl Grand Slam, December 1, 2018 at Pendragon Theatre in Saranac Lake, NY.

(Feb 18, 2019) At the The Howl Grand Story Slam at Pendragon Theatre in Saranac Lake on December 1, 2018, Tom Langren tells the story of his first (and last) outing as a rodeo clown in a Costa Rica bullring.

(Apr 13, 2018) Adirondack Center for Writing Executive Director Nathalie Thill took up the "holidays" theme at The Howl Grand Slam to tell a story from her college days in Washington, DC in the early 90s, when she lived in a neighborhood that was overrun by the crack epidemic. But for one day, the daily tragedy that defined the neighborhood was replaced by a brighter, more hopeful, celebratory mood. Recorded live at Pickens Hall in Heuvelton, NY on November 4, 2017.

(Jan 24, 2018) Tony Moats of Queensbury, NY took up the "holidays" theme at The Howl Grand Slam to explain why he thinks we need more holidays. He and his wife have doubled up theirs by observing both American and Canadian federal holidays. And it turns out that they celebrated their first one together many years before they ever met. Recorded live at Pickens Hall in Heuvelton, NY on November 4, 2017.

(Jan 17, 2018) Susan Allott of Elizabethtown, NY took up the "holidays" theme at The Howl Grand Slam. Growing up with 13 siblings, then later having kids of her own, Susan Allott remembers plenty of holiday traditions, and a few interesting adventures. She shares some of them at the Howl Grand Slam. Recorded live at Pickens Hall in Heuvelton, NY on November 4, 2017.

(Jan 10, 2018) Alison Lutz of Morrisonville, NY took up the "holidays" theme at The Howl Grand Slam to tell the story of her family's holiday traditions, and how important they were. But spending time with the people you love - now that's the best holiday gift of all. Recorded live at Pickens Hall in Heuvelton, NY on November 4, 2017.

(Jan 3, 2018) As an Uber driver, Joshua Swink of Carthage, NY meets all kinds of people. He took up the "holidays theme" at The Howl Grand Slam to tell the story of his favorite trip with Brendan, a customer celebrating his birthday. He ended up spending several hours in the car as Joshua picked up many other riders in the Syracuse area. Recorded live at Pickens Hall in Heuvelton, NY on November 4, 2017.

(Dec 27, 2017) Derrick Conway of Rensselaer Falls, NY took the up the "Holidays" theme at The Howl Grand Slam to tell the story of how the holidays have evolved over the years, from a disciplined routine when his mother was in charge of the cooking, to something very different after his father passed away. Recorded live at Pickens Hall in Heuvelton, NY on November 4, 2017.

(Dec 20, 2017) AJ Porschet of Sodus, NY took the up the "Holidays" theme at The Howl Grand Slam to tell the story of how a gift of skis one Christmas brought her family closer together, even if it was at the expense of sore muscles and hurt pride. Recorded live at Pickens Hall in Heuvelton, NY on November 4, 2017.

(Dec 13, 2017) Deirdre Loftus of Lake Placid took up the "Holidays" theme to win The Howl Grand Slam with the story of how her father's gift of a book gave her permission to become her own person. Recorded at Pickens Hall, Heuvelton, NY. November 4, 2017.

(Dec 6, 2017) Tanya Roy of Adams, NY took up the "Holidays" theme at The Howl Grand Slam to tell the story of her grandparent's picnic basket, source of a bottomless supply of Christmas dinner in her childhood, and of one special gift in the bleakest of midwinters. Recorded at Pickens Hall, Heuvelton, NY. November 4, 2017.

(Sep 29, 2017) Skip Grant of Saratoga Springs, NY used the theme "skeletons in the closet" at The Howl Grand Slam to tell the story of being confronted with a folder that documented all his missteps and failures, and how he came to embrace the challenges that made him who he is. Recorded at Pendragon Theatre, Saranac Lake, NY. June 3, 2017.

(Sep 22, 2017) Rose Rivezzi of Potsdam, NY used the theme "skeletons in the closet" at The Howl Grand Slam to tell the story of the struggles associated with growing up with a mother who suffered from depression, and the path to eventually accepting who her mother was. Recorded at Pendragon Theatre, Saranac Lake, NY. June 3, 2017.

(Sep 15, 2017) Rick Chandler of Lee's Summit, Missouri used the theme "skeletons in the closet" at The Howl Grand Slam to tell the story of how his wife acquired the monicker "Freezerburn" and discovered that she was, in fact, pretty badass. Recorded at Pendragon Theatre, Saranac Lake, NY. June 3, 2017.

(Sep 8, 2017) Stephen Baratta of Glens Falls used the theme of "skeletons in the closet" at The Howl Grand Slam to recall his teen years when he tried on every dress in his mother's closet... except for one. Recorded at Pendragon Theatre, Saranac Lake, NY. June 3, 2017.

(Sep 1, 2017) Kathy McHugh of Saranac Lake used the theme of "skeletons in the closet" at The Howl Grand Slam to tell of the time she and her sister were in a car accident in the Adirondacks, and her unmentionable experience after that at the local hospital. Recorded at Pendragon Theatre, Saranac Lake, NY. June 3, 2017.

(Aug 18, 2017) Derrick Conway of Rensselaer Falls used the theme of "skeletons in the closet" at The Howl Grand Slam to tell the story of his desperate attempts to avoid sleeping, and how it cost him almost everything. Recorded at Pendragon Theatre in Saranac Lake, NY. June 3, 2017.

(Aug 11, 2017) Lucy Thill of Lake Clear, NY, used the theme of "skeletons in the closet" at The Howl Grand Slam to talk about the problem she has with germs, and how she's learning to move past it. Recorded at Pendragon Theatre, Saranac Lake, NY. June 3, 2017.

(Aug 4, 2017) Jerry McGovern of Peru, NY, used the theme of "skeletons in the closet" at The Howl Grand Slam to tell a story that shows a side of former President Richard Nixon not taught in the history books. Nixon was a Navy poker buddy of McGovern's father in WWII, played the piano at his sisters' wedding receptions and talked to him about baseball. Recorded at Pendragon Theatre in Saranac Lake, NY. June 3, 2017The Adirondack Center for Writing is co-sponsor of the Howl Story Slams.

(Jul 28, 2017) Deb Hall of Gansevoort, NY, used the theme of "skeletons in the closet" at The Howl Grand Slam to tell a story of a man she encountered during the early days of online dating. Recorded at Pendragon Theatre, Saranac Lake, NY. June 3, 2017.The Adirondack Center for Writing is co-sponsor of the Howl Story Slams.

(Jul 21, 2017) Rajiv Narula from Canton used the theme of "skeletons in the closet" at The Howl Grand Slam to tell a story about loyalty and desperation that he learned first hand growing up in Kolkata, India. Recorded at Pendragon Theatre in Saranac Lake, NY. June 3, 2017.The Adirondack Center for Writing is co-sponsor of the Howl Story Slams.

(Jul 14, 2017) Joe Conto from Lake Placid, NY uses the theme of "Skeletons in the Closet" to tell the story of the time he "tried to ruin a man's life" during a winter job in Florida. Told live at the Howl Story Slam Grand Slam at Pendragon Theatre on June 3.The Adirondack Center for Writing is co-sponsor of the Howl Story Slams.

(Feb 24, 2017) Here's David Wolf sharing a wrenching story about war, patriotism and conscience at the Howl Story Slam Grand Slam at Pickens Hall last fall.The Adirondack Center for Writing is co-sponsor of the Howl Story Slams.

(Feb 23, 2017) Here's Trish Hartka of Massena with a moving story of family, and specifically, grandparents in her life, at the Howl Story Slam Grand Slam at Pickens Hall.The Adirondack Center for Writing is co-sponsor of the Howl Story Slams

(Feb 22, 2017) Here's Lucy Thill, our youngest storyteller, who first wowed us at the age of 10 with a hilarious story at the Saranac Lake slam, and came back to do it again at the Howl Story Slam Grand Slam at Pickens Hall.The Adirondack Center for Writing is co-sponsor of the Howl Story Slams

(Feb 14, 2017) Here's Kris Rusho of Oswego, with a story about playing chess with her grandfather that left not a dry eye in the house at the Howl Story Slam Grand Slam at Pickens Hall.The Adirondack Center for Writing is co-sponsor of the Howl Story Slams

(Feb 7, 2017) Here's Flip Filippi of Canton, who has chosen to live her life car-free, and biked her way into all of our hearts and consciences at the Howl Story Slam Grand Slam at Pickens Hall.The Adirondack Center for Writing is co-sponsor of the Howl Story Slams

(Feb 1, 2017) Bill Torrey, who won our Plattsburgh Howl Story Slam, came back to the Grand Slam at Pickens Hall with this story about the risks a teenage boy will take to spend some alone time with a girl.The Adirondack Center for Writing is co-sponsor of the Howl Story Slams

(Jan 25, 2017) Tanya Roy had us rolling in the aisles at the Howl Story Slam in Clayton, NY in Summer 2016, and did it again at our Grand Slam event in Heuvelton, NY. Her missed opportunity happened on a night in Syracuse that was supposed to start with Dinosaur Barbecue and end with a Dave Matthews band concert. But somewhere in the middle, misplaced car keys and concert tickets get in the way of her plans.The Adirondack Center for Writing is co-sponsor of the Howl Story Slams

(Jan 12, 2017) We first met Michael Cunningham at the Howl Story Slam in North Creek on September 11. Just a few days later he joined us in Heuvelton for the Howl Grand Slam event. It was there that Michael shared his story “Man of the House. ” He recalled the moment as a child when his father unexpectedly returned from the war in Vietnam, and Michael realized his father was no longer the dad he used to know.The Adirondack Center for Writing is co-sponsor of the Howl Story Slams

(Jan 4, 2017) We first met Samantha Stinson at the Howl Story Slam in Potsdam on September 17, 2016. Her story there won her a spot in our Grand Slam at Pickens Hall in Heuvelton just a few days later. There she told us about missing a professional opportunity because of her unexpectedly growing family.Samantha Stinson lives in Potsdam. She recently earned her Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Voice Performance from the University of Cincinnati College Conservatory of Music. She told her story at our Howl Grand Slam event in Heuvelton on September 22.

(Nov 29, 2016) We first met Elaine Kuracina at the Howl Story Slam in Potsdam on September 17. Her story there won her a spot in our Grand Slam at Pickens Hall in Heuvelton just a few days later. It was there that she told the story of sacrificing big city dreams for a life in the North Country, only to realize that she probably gave up nothing at all. The Adirondack Center for Writing is co-sponsor of the Howl Story Slams

(Nov 22, 2016) In February 2016, North Country Public Radio teamed up with the Adirondack Center for Writing to bring true life storytelling to locations across the region. We started with Saranac Lake and moved the Howl Story Slam to a dozen locations from Canton to Old Forge, Plattsburgh to North Creek.At each slam, we selected a few winners and they came together on September 24, 2016 at Pickens Hall in Heuvelton, NY for the season's finale. We begin with Rick Chandler, who we first heard in Saranac Lake, with a story about boxing, high school and self-awareness.