August 26-28 Marathon telling of the Indian epic Mahabharata

Over the years I have been involved in several "epic storytelling" adventures. This is the latest one. I will be telling a chapter called "The Blade of Grass". See below for more information.

The Mahabarata

August 26-28

Come join us at Taylor Lake to listen, as storytellers and listeners from across the country gather for an epic week-end. The Mahabarata is one of the great sacred texts of India and includes the Bagvada Gita. It is one of the world’s longest books, (three times as long as the Bible) and cannot be undertaken in its entirety. However, using the central narrative as recounted in William Buck’s re-telling of this great and mysterious epic, tellers will bring you a glimpse of this remarkable world, as the beautiful, terrible story of the conflict between the Pandava and the Kurava unfolds. If you don’t know the work and want to find out about it, get William Buck’s Mahabarata or Peter Brook’s play of the same name which is available on DVD and video. It was this film that started us off on this journey.

Approximate telling schedule:
7:00 - 9:00 Friday Night
10:00 - 6:00 Saturday
10:00 - 2:00 Sunday

(Listeners and tellers arrive and get settled, between 4:00 6:00 PM Friday)

• There are short breaks every hour to hour and a half and good breaks
for lunch. Conversation abounds!
• Participants are encouraged/expected to stay the whole week-end as it is the ability to immerse ourselves, audience and tellers together, in the whole story that makes the experience uniquely powerful.

Fee: $50:00

Accommodation: As before, listeners ( tellers too) are invited to come with tents and pitch them in our garden on the shores of beautiful Taylor Lake. There is some space available in the house; a few beds and space for mattresses on the floor but this is very limited, so speak up soon as tellers will get first dibs. As well there are bed and breakfasts in the neighbourhood that would be glad to welcome you. (www.almonte.com or call 613-256-2055 or look up Ontario Bed and Breakfasts) Taylor Lake is 1 hour south of Ottawa and 10 minutes south of Almonte.

Food and Drink: As in previous years food and drink are potluck and if previous years are anything to go by, the food will be splendid and plentiful. Potluck is not organized and seems to work out just fine. Meals are shared outdoors and refrigerator space is seriously limited, so bring a cooler. As well you will need to bring cutlery and dishes for yourself. Most meals are pick-up but Saturday night we sit down together around long candle-lit tables.

If you are interested in being part of this epic experience fill out the
attached form and mail it with your fee to: Jennifer Cayley, RR # 2,
Lanark, Ont. K0G 1K0. Registration will be confirmed by email.

Because of the location space is very limited so register soon.

Tom and Louis the Highland Bull 

Tom at the Ottawa Folk Festival, August 20

The 12th Annual CKCU Ottawa Folk Festival blooms in Ottawa's Britannia Park from Thursday evening, August 18 to Sunday, August 21, 2005. I'm delighted to be performing at two daytime workshops (12 noon and 3:45 pm) on Saturday, August 20. The Saturday noon workshop focuses on the art of songwriting, and I will be sharing the hour with three gifted (and very different) singer-songwriters, Lee Hayes, David Keeble and Pat Moore. Just to make sure we're not "coasting" when we talk about songwriting, each of us has undertaken to write a song especially for the occasion, using the same theme. (This is a hallowed practice of Writers Bloc.) Later that same day (3:45pm) David Keeble and I will spend an hour trading original songs. Check your Festival program for the locations. Drop by, listen in, say hi!