The North Columbia Schoolhouse Cultural Center and the art of storytelling have been intertwined since its start in the early 1980s. In addition to the three core projects below, we host many other events with story at the heart. Winter tales, history nights, story slams and other story-based programming are a consistent part of our programming calendar:
Sierra Storytelling Festival
The Sierra Storytelling Festival is our anchor event of the year. We bring in world-class tellers to our one-of-a-kind outdoor amphitheater for a weekend of true stories and tall tales for all ages
A Landscape Full of Stories
During 2012, we collected stories from 21 individuals with connections to the fabric and history of the San Juan Ridge. Entitled “A Landscape Full of Stories,” the collection was exhibited with portraits of the subjects and excerpts from the interviews.
Building of Oak Tree School
The construction of Oak Tree School was nothing short of a radical experiment in community building, local politics, and grass roots education. And while the impetus behind the building of the School grew out of the back-to-the-land ethos, its construction and operation brought about unprecedented cross-cultural collaborations—and at times conflicts— that have had a lasting influence on the Ridge community.
Ridge Tapestry Project
The Ridge Tapestry Project is an ongoing project to document the unique cultural history of the San Juan Ridge through a series of embroidered vignettes. A core group of local women along with volunteers have created the tapestries during work sessions at the Schoolhouse. When complete, the thirteen tapestries will hang in the North Columbia Schoolhouse Cultural Center.