Story Arts of Minnesota

Story Arts of Minnesota promotes storytelling and develops and supports storytellers.

Story Arts of Minnesota promotes storytelling and develops and supports storytellers.  SAM (formerly the Northstar Storytelling League) has been offering solid storytelling programs to its members and the general public for over a decade. Our website promotes storytelling events in the Twin Cities and beyond. When "storytelling" and "Minnesota" are typed into a search engine, we come up first.

SAM brings storytelling to you, and brings you to storytelling.  Programs we sponsor include StoryFest, an annual all-day celebration of storytelling for adults and children; PJ Stories, a monthly program offering family friendly performances; and the Children’s Storytelling Guild, which meets monthly to work on and share stories.  SAM members gather several times a year to swap stories and network.  SAM participates in Tellabration and World Storytelling Day, which are both celebrated around the globe, and manages storytelling stages at local events like the Festival of Nations and the Minnesota State Fair. These events  are listed on our website and our Facebook page.  Our website also offers a directory of Minnesota storytellers; information about storytelling classes and workshops; and a comprehensive calendar of storytelling programs and shows around the state.

Current Goals:

• We would like to put on more awesome events like 200 Years of the Brothers Grimm – performances that confirm our belief that traditional stories, told with their ambiguity and darker elements intact, remain compelling and relevant to adult audiences. 
• We would like to strengthen our year-round educational programming.  But story clubs and workshop series have costs - costs that are hard to recoup entirely from fees, especially in this economy. Our events need to be affordable.
• Most importantly, perhaps, we would like to build our infrastructure to allow us to have consistent, year-round communications and marketing support. What good is it to have great programming if no one knows it is there?

This is where you come in.   

Membership fees alone cannot help this organization grow. Grant funding is not always reliable. We are looking to increase support from individual donors like you, as well as to grow our earned income, so that we can continue to offer events and services for many years to come.

Stories have the power to change and inspire not only the audience that hears them, but the artist who creates and is created by them. SAM values creative expression on all levels and provides opportunities for all individuals to grow and develop as artists. 

If you value this work as well, and want to see it grow, please support us!