Our Second Season Has Begun

January 18, 2017 JJ Sheffer

We hosted another sold-out story slam on January 17. Our theme this month was BLANK CANVAS. We heard stories about artistic endeavors and fresh starts with clean slates.

Matt McDunnell won with his story about his senior year of high school in a new town, trying to figure out why his new classmates were suspicious of him. Matt is pictured here with this month's host, Philip Given. Matt received an exclusive York Story Slam journal from our friends at Story Supply Co. and earned a spot in our Grand Slam in November.

Thanks to the Cultural Alliance of York County for including us in CelebrateArts, a weeklong celebration of the arts and culture amenities in York County.

Watch videos of all the stories from that night here.

Tickets are on sale for our February story slam, and we recommend you get your tickets right away, since our events usually sell out quickly. The theme is LOVE LIFE.

Mark Your Calendar for Our 2017 Series

December 6, 2016 JJ Sheffer

York Story Slam is ready for 2017! We will once again host our events on the third Tuesday of the month at Holy Hound Taproom. We've just announced the themes for this year's story slams. And we are pleased to announce that tickets for our January event will be FREE (reserve yours while they last!). Here's why...

With the help of York’s cultural community, the Cultural Alliance of York County will host the first ever “CelebrateArts” week of free cultural events January 15 through 21. CelebrateArts was created by the Cultural Alliance and their cultural partners to show the importance and impact that high quality arts experiences have on the health and vibrancy of our community. As part of this weeklong celebration, the Cultural Alliance and sponsor GLATFELTER Paper will foot the bill for tickets to the January 17 York Story Slam.

You still have to reserve your tickets, but they will be FREE. We typically sell out every month when tickets are NOT free, so we expect them to go fast. Get yours now before they're gone.

Brad Jennings Wins Our First-Ever Grand Slam

November 16, 2016 JJ Sheffer

Congratulations to Brad Jennings, who won our first-ever Grand Slam. Brad competed with all the other winners from this year's monthly open mic story slams and earned the title of Best Storyteller in York. The theme for the evening was FULL CIRCLE, and we hosted the event in the Capitol Theatre in downtown York.

Brad (not Bradley, aka Brian) is pictured here with our Master of Ceremonies, Aaron Lewis, York Story Slam producer JJ Sheffer, and the badass trophy he won with his story about his poor choice of underwear as a high school athlete.

Watch all the videos from the Grand Slam here.

We thank the Strand Capitol Performing Arts Center for allowing us to host this event in the beautiful Capitol Theatre. We appreciate the support this year from The Beer Ace, who underwrote some of our expenses so that we could keep our ticket prices low. We were also fortunate to be the recipient of a Creative Impact Award from the Cultural Alliance of York County; that grant helped fund our startup expenses.

We are grateful to work with an excellent team of vendors to produce our events and archive the stories: photographers Isaac Edmondson Photography, Digital Ephemera Photography, and Jeff Lautenberger; sound guy/audio engineer extraordinaire Logan Summey of Third Leg Audio; York Storyman Randy Flaum, who records and produces our videos; and Carla at Wilson Media Services, who produces our monthly podcast (click on PODCAST at the top of the page!).

Thank you to everyone who showed up this year to listen, and everyone who bravely put their names into the hat to share stories. Storytelling is a wonderful way to get to know others in your community; to uncover things you have in common with your neighbors, and to recognize and understand our differences. This is always a valuable opportunity, and it seems especially important in times like these.

We won’t have a story slam event in December – we'll be busy planning for next year. We will continue to host our monthly events on the third Tuesday of the month in 2017. Please block it out on your calendar and make sure you’re on our email list and following us on social media so we can keep you in the loop when we announce the themes for next year.

...And I Would Have Gotten Away with It, Too, If It Weren't For You Meddling Kids

October 19, 2016 JJ Sheffer

The theme for our final open mic story slam of the year was UNMASKED. We heard stories about both literal and figurative masks.

Michelle Macera won with a story about how she exacted revenge on her on-again, off-again high school boyfriend. Michelle is pictured here with this month's host, Bryan R. Caine. Michelle received an exclusive York Story Slam journal from our friends at Story Supply Co. and earned the last spot in our Grand Slam in November.

Watch videos of all the stories from that night here.

We announced the theme for our 2016 Grand Slam: FULL CIRCLE. We're excited to host it in the beautiful Capitol Theatre on November 15. Tickets are on sale now.

Learning the Hard Way

September 21, 2016 JJ Sheffer

We hosted another sold-out story slam on September 20. Our theme this month was LESSONS LEARNED. Seventeen people put their names into the hat for a chance to share a story; we got to hear 14 of them before we ran out of time. We heard stories about lessons learned in childhood and as adults, and recurring lessons throughout life.

Matthew Kabik won with his story about the lessons he learned at a school for children with Cerebral Palsy. Matthew is pictured here with this month's host, Carter Grimm. Matthew received an exclusive York Story Slam journal from our friends at Story Supply Co. and earned a spot in our Grand Slam in November.

Watch videos of all the stories from that night here.

We recommend you get your tickets for our October story slam right away, since our events usually sell out in advance. The theme is UNMASKED, and this will be our last open mic story slam of the year.

We also made a big announcement about our upcoming Grand Slam: we'll host it in the beautiful Capitol Theatre. Tickets are on sale now.

Of Dogs and Summer

August 19, 2016 JJ Sheffer

Our theme this month was DOG DAYS. We heard stories about man's best friend, about enduring heat waves, and about fond memories of childhood summers. Bryan R. Caine won with his story about how his dislike of dogs began, and how those feelings have evolved.

Bryan is pictured here with this month's host, Meg Martin. Bryan received an exclusive York Story Slam journal from our friends at Story Supply Co. and earned a spot in our Grand Slam in November.

Watch videos of all the stories from that night here.

We recommend you get your tickets for our September story slam right away, since our events usually sell out in advance. The theme is LESSONS LEARNED.

Fifteen (Five) Minutes of Fame

July 20, 2016 JJ Sheffer

Our theme this month was BRUSH WITH FAME. We heard stories of celebrity sightings, disappointment at meeting personal heroes, and things our storytellers themselves were famous for. Sarah Doherty won with her story of when she tried to talk to Shane Victorino at Panera Bread and he wasn't as friendly as she would have liked. She is pictured here with this month's host, Eileen Joyce. Sarah received an exclusive York Story Slam journal from our friends at Story Supply Co. and earned a spot in our Grand Slam in November.

Watch videos of all the stories from that night here.

We recommend you get your tickets for our August 16 story slam right away, since our events usually sell out well in advance. The theme is DOG DAYS.

Meg Martin Tells It Like It Is

June 22, 2016 JJ Sheffer

The theme for our June 21 story slam was THE NAKED TRUTH. Meg Martin won with a story about being completely honest with her friend about that friend's boyfriend. She is pictured here with this month's host, Michael Sirianni. Meg received an exclusive York Story Slam journal from our friends at Story Supply Co. and earned a spot in our Grand Slam in November.

Watch videos of all the stories from that night here.

We recommend you get your tickets for our July 19 story slam right away, since our events usually sell out well in advance. The theme is BRUSH WITH FAME, and Eileen Joyce will host.

The Road to Hell is Paved with Good Stories

May 18, 2016 JJ Sheffer

We hosted another sold-out York Story Slam on May 17. Our theme for the evening was BEST INTENTIONS, and Matt Feeser won with his story about a trip to Virginia Beach when he was in college, when horsing around with friends went wrong.

Matt is pictured here with this month's host, Mike Pritchard. Matt won an exclusive York Story Slam journal from our friends at Story Supply Co. and earned a spot in our Grand Slam in November.

Watch videos of this month's stories here.

We recommend you get your tickets for our June 21 story slam right away, since our first five events sold out well in advance. The theme is THE NAKED TRUTH.

Eileen Joyce Wins Our April Story Slam

April 20, 2016 JJ Sheffer

We hosted our fourth sold-out York Story Slam on April 19, with the theme HUNGER. Eileen Joyce won with a story about her cat's tactics for waking Eileen up to feed him. She is pictured here with this month's host, Brad Jennings, and the prize, an exclusive York Story Slam journal from our friends at Story Supply Co. She has also earned a spot in our Grand Slam in November.

We had 11 storytellers this month. Watch videos of all their stories here.

We recommend you get your tickets for our May 17 story slam right away, since our first four events sold out well in advance. The theme is BEST INTENTIONS.

We Got Lucky at Our March Story Slam

March 16, 2016 JJ Sheffer

Heather Klinefelter won our March story slam. The theme was LUCK, and Heather told the story of some celebrities she met while working at a local restaurant in the late 90s. She is pictured here with this month's host, Philip Given, and Heather's prize, an exclusive York Story Slam journal from our friends at Story Supply Co. She has also earned a spot in our Grand Slam in November.

We had 10 storytellers this month. Watch videos of all their stories here.

We recommend you get your tickets for our April 19 story slam right away, since our first three events sold out well in advance. The theme is HUNGER.

February Story Slam: A Lot of Poop, Puke, and Hangovers

February 17, 2016 JJ Sheffer

Another sold out event! The theme for this month was SICK, and we suppose we have no one to blame but ourselves for the tales of various bodily fluids emitting from various places. Anyway, we congratulate Brad Jennings, who had the highest score Tuesday night with his story about a few times when he was sick (plenty of bodily fluids in his story). Brad is pictured here with this month's host, Aaron Lewis, and his prize, an(other) exclusive York Story Slam journal from our friends at Story Supply Co.

BUT - we're new at this, and hadn't anticipated having the same person win two slams, and we neglected to offer our next Grand Slam spot to the person with the second-highest score. So congratulations go out, as well, to David Weissman, who told a story of a time from his childhood when he pretended to be sick so he could stay home from school and have a little...alone time (this story ends abruptly, just - mercifully - short of including any bodily fluids). Oh, dear.

Click here to view videos of these and all the other stories from that night.

We recommend you get your tickets for our March 15 story slam, because they're already going fast, and we don't expect to have any available at the door. The theme is LUCK.

Brad Jennings Wins Inaugural York Story Slam

January 20, 2016 JJ Sheffer

Brad Jennings won our January story slam. The theme was New Beginnings, and Brad told the story of his first day working for a newspaper in another town - a job he stayed at for only six weeks before coming back to York. Brad is pictured here with our host for the evening, Matthew Kabik, and his prize, an exclusive York Story Slam journal from our friends at Story Supply Co. Brad has also earned a spot in our Grand Slam in November.

Thank you to everyone who attended our first event - it was completely sold out! And extra thanks to those who put their names into the hat to tell a story. Click here to view videos of the stories.

We recommend you get your tickets for our February 16 story slam, and get 'em quick - we don't expect to have any available at the door. The theme is SICK.

Story Slam is coming to York!

November 5, 2015 JJ Sheffer

Clear your calendar for the third Tuesday of the month in 2016 so you can raise a glass or six and enjoy hearing true stories from friends and neighbors. We'll have a different theme each month, and anyone who attends is welcome to put their name in the hat for a chance to share their story. Read more about how it works on our About page.

We fell in love with the concept of story slams by way of The Moth Radio Hour, which we first discovered when WXPN began to broadcast it on Tuesday nights (also available as a podcast through iTunes so you never have to miss an episode). We wanted to attend a story slam live and in person, so we started looking around to see if there were any in our area. As good fortune would have it, the Lancaster Story Slam had just gotten up and running. We attended an event and quickly became part of the regional story slam community, and knew immediately that we wanted to bring it to York.

It's been such a pleasure to attend Lancaster and West Chester Story Slam events this year and make plans for our own series. This time of year is Grand Slam season - Grand Slams are the culminating events where all the winners from the current season are invited back to compete for the title of Best Storyteller. Here's the winning story from the recent Delco Story Slam Grand Slam event:

Can't wait to host our own series here at home! Subscribe to our newsletter to stay in the loop about upcoming events. You can also follow our antics here on our website, or by connecting with us on social media, and eventually our podcast (to begin after our first event).