Enchanted Evenings – Storytelling for Adults

Enchanted Evenings is a two to three-monthly community event intended to awaken our personal and collective sense of wonder – a magical story brew offered from the heart of our living great green cauldron.

PLEASE NOTE THE NEXT ENCHANTED EVENINGS WILL BE HELD ON SEPTEMBER 18TH, AND NOVEMBER 20TH.

Sharing stories in person is our birthright, with both telling and hearing directly whispering to something ancient in each of us and acting as a powerful medicine to strip away the digital blare and collectively enter into a space of shared wonder and belonging. When we gift ourselves with the old stories there can be respite from defending, hustling, reductive-self-psychologising, and ticking off on life admin – instead we can receive the profoundly nourishing pleasure of a shared imaginative space from which our souls might deeply drink.

Most adults in our culture are rarely, if ever, invited into this kind of experience but here you will be welcomed into a sacred story space in which you can replenish, reflect, and feel how stories might relate to, ennoble, deepen, enrich, and give clarity to your own daily existence. Anticipate: laughter, tears, surprise, beauty, tragedy, reward, love lost, love found, foolishness and wisdom, the polished and the raw – essentially everything it is to be human!

There will be an array of people telling, with the aim over these evenings of encouraging more people to offer to share stories aloud. The reason for fairytales, folk tales, wonder tales, myths, legends, fables, and ballads etc. vs more contemporary or personal stories is to intentionally tap into the archetypal and to journey together through timeless magical space.

If you are interested in sharing a story, ballad, or would like to play some enchanting music, please email: storywellaustralia@gmail.com

Space is limited within the gorgeous glowing hug of the century-old Trinity church (with a labyrinth out the back), It’s best to book online to ensure your place and you’re welcome to come alone or with friends – either way you’ll leave feeling companioned!

Please bring cash for chai and brownies ($5 for non-caffeinated chai with a brownie), a waterbottle, and although there are chairs as well – byo cushions and sheepskins for floor lollers! Please arrive by 6.45pm so we can start at 7.

Ticket prices are being kept low in the spirit of this being a community offering, however if you are willing to purchase a supporter ticket, it is all in aim of continuing to grow these evenings and spread ripples of enchantment wider into our community!

A little bit about your host / curator…

MELAINA FARANDA has delivered storytelling performances across Australia and overseas. The author of seventy books published nationally and internationally, Melaina attended England’s premier storytelling course, the Emerson College residential – Storytelling Beyond Words, along with additional in-person training with Dr Clarissa Pinkola Estes, Dr Martin Shaw, Dr Sharon Blackie, Roi Gal-Or, Karmit Evenzur, Ashley Ramsden, Shonaleigh Cumbers, Hugh Lupton, Angharad Wynne, Colin Campbell, and many storytelling luminaries in the UK and USA. A lover of the mythopoetic, she feels that to speak and listen to certain stories is to be breathed through with silver and gold. Deeply passionate about sharing skills and knowledge – she continues to teach and facilitate numerous workshops and retreats across Australia for decades to rave acclaim.