Hear memoirs in 6 minutes at virtual fundraiser
This year’s 6-Minute Memoir fundraising event will take place June 20 at 7:30 p.m. over Zoom
Could you tell your life story in six minutes?
Thirteen Hamiltonians have accepted the challenge for this year’s 6-Minute Memoir, an annual event that brings together authors, actors and activists in the city for an evening of storytelling.
“Now, more than ever, we need to hear each other’s stories and feel connected with one another during a time when so many of us are isolated,” Anne Bokma, journalist, author and founder of the 6-Minute Memoir, said in a press release. “Storytelling helps bring us together.”
Presenters will tell stories of coming and leaving home, the theme for this year’s event.
Featured storytellers include Gary Barwin, winner of the Leacock Medal for Humour for his book Yiddish for Pirates, and Leo Johnson, an activist and social entrepreneur from Liberia who spent eight years in refugee camps before coming to Hamilton.
The 2020 special guest is Alison Wearing, a Guelph-based writer and performer who wrote bestselling memoir and award-winning play “Confessions of a Fairy’s Daughter.”
This year’s storytellers have the added challenge of performing virtually, through a live Zoom event on June 20 at 7:30 p.m.
The 6-Minute Memoir, which was started by Bokma eight years ago, typically takes place at The First Unitarian Church of Hamilton.
Last year, the church was filled to capacity for the event, with more than 250 people in attendance.
Proceeds from the event, described as “speed storytelling for a cause,” will go toward supporting the efforts of Empowerment Squared, a charity founded by storyteller Leo Johnson that works with newcomer, refugee and marginalized youth and communities, as well as The First Unitarian Church of Hamilton.
Tickets, which cost $10 per person, and can be purchased online at annebokma.com/ 6minute-memoir.