Maine Cancer Foundation Event

Pink Tulip Blooming Celebration to Feature Renowned Storytellers Jay O’Callahan and Katy Rydell

Maine Cancer Foundation held a Pink Tulip Blooming and Storytelling Celebration at Lincoln Park in Portland on Saturday, May 9, from 10:00 am to 12:00 pm.

Internationally renowned storytellers Jay O’Callahan and Katy Rydell was there performing stories adapted for Maine Cancer Foundation’s Pink Tulip Project. The Taiko Maine Dojo drummers also performed. Lincoln Park is located at 356 Congress Street near Franklin Arterial.

Press Release
Mass., O’Callahan has been telling stories since he was 14. Over the years, he has received awards for his performances, books, audiotapes and videos from the National Education Film Festival, Fund for U.S. Artists at International Festivals, Parents' Choice, New England Theater Conference and UNESCO, among others. The National Endowment of the Arts awarded him a fellowship for solo performance excellence. He is a regular contributor to National Public Radio and leads creativity workshops for corporations and other interested groups. He has been commissioned by NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) to create a story for their fiftieth anniversary.

O’Callahan writes the plays he performs. The hallmark of his talent is the passion he brings to big and small dramas of ordinary life. He slips into the souls of his characters and captures the wonder and sparkling sense of life welled up inside them, creating a magical world of hope, courage and dignity.

Katy Rydell will perform her story, Spring Song. Rydell has been telling stories to a wide variety of audiences for more than twenty years. She has been a featured performer, a popular teacher, a musician and a writer. After earning a Master's Degree in Folklore from UCLA, Rydell spent five years at California State University, Los Angeles, teaching teachers how to use storytelling in the classroom. She has taught storytelling classes at many colleges and universities, given workshops at festivals, and led in-service workshops for teachers and librarians.

Rydell is a writer as well as a storyteller. She contributed to and edited the National Storytelling Network's introductory booklet, A Beginner's Guide to Storytelling. Rydell has been a featured storyteller at regional festivals throughout the West, including the Forest Storytelling Festival, Sierra Storytelling Festival, Bay Area Storytelling Festival, and Mariposa Storytelling Festival. In 2007, after thirty-four years in Los Angeles, she moved to Portland, Maine. She still spends much of the year in Southern California.

Liz Berg, creator and founder of Taiko Maine Dojo will lead the troupe of taiko drummers. Taiko is an ancient Japanese performing art that in modern form brings together multiple drummers in an ensemble. The music is accompanied with dramatic, expressive, and visually expressive movement. Berg created Taiko Maine Dojo, based in Portland, Maine, in 2006.

Storm Cancellation Plan. In case of inclement weather on Saturday morning (winds, rain & umbrella weather) a decision will be made by 8 AM to change the venue to the St. Lawrence St. Church, 76 Congress St. (Congress & Munjoy Sts.) in Portland.

Within the next few weeks, 40,000 pink tulips will bloom at 70 public garden sites across Maine. Last fall, local volunteers planted the tulip bulbs for the Maine Cancer Foundation’s Pink Tulip Project. The project commemorates the challenge of breast cancer and the celebration of hope that research and education provide. Signs are posted at each Pink Tulip Project site.

Pink Tulip gardens raise funds for the Women's Cancer Fund at the Maine Cancer Foundation. As of mid-April 2009, $45,000 had been raised by this year's gardens. Underwriters and sponsors, including Oxford Networks, also provide support to the project throughout the state.

Interested participants are encouraged to support a Pink Tulip Project community garden in their area or contact the Maine Cancer Foundation to plan a garden for next year. Donations can be made at www.pinktulipproject.org or by calling (207) 773-2533. Contributions in support of the project can be mailed to Pink Tulips, Maine Cancer Foundation, P.O. Box 553, Portland, ME 04112.

All proceeds from the Pink Tulip Project benefit the Maine Cancer Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to funding research and finding hope for the people of Maine. Since 1976, the Foundation has supported cancer research, education and patient support programs throughout the state. Dedicated to advancing the path to a cancer free future, all funds raised remain in Maine. For more information, visit www.mainecancer.org or call 773-2533, or toll free in Maine 1-866-627-2411.