COMMUNITY ROOTS ORAL HISTORY PROJECT

Exhibit Opening

Thursday, February 8 from 5-7 p.m. Program begins at 6:15pm.

FREE for all ages. Come join!

• Olympia Timberland Library
• 313 Eighth Ave S.E., Olympia.
• Intercity Transit Routes 60 & 64

Join Window Seat Media for the opening of our Community Roots Exhibit! Learn more about the stories and project. Community Roots is a community oral history project that shares stories about how people come together to make change and create new possibilities for themselves and their neighbors. Since January 2023, a small team of community researchers have been gathering oral histories about three important local spaces – the Liberation Cafe, Camp Quixote, and Driftwood Daycare. Research ideas came to us from our cohort, who had personal interest and connections to these stories. Come experience the stories through an interactive exhibit and discussion with project participants. Snacks provided.

Documenting Ourselves: an oral history workshop for families and communities 

Saturday, February 17 from 2-5 p.m. 

Ages 16 and up. Please register.

• The Liberation Collective at the YWCA Friendship Hall
• 220 Union Ave. in downtown Olympia
• Intercity Transit Route 13 or 60 
  
• Sliding scale, access-for-all: $10-$200 (actual cost $60 per person)

This interactive workshop is for community members interested in learning an oral history process and tools for documenting their family or community stories.  We’ll practice our listening skills, consider how to spark memories, make meaningful connections through the interview process, learn recording techniques and technology, and explore the ethical considerations of recording other peoples’ stories. Participants leave with the skills and confidence to carry out an oral history interview with a loved one. Snacks provided.

‍Places Where I Belong: A Playback Theatre Performance with Brave Practice Collective

Thursday, February 29, 6:30 - 8:30 p.m. 

All ages. Please register.

• OYAA (Olympia Youth Artspace Alliance) Stage at Olympia Family Theater
• 612 4th Ave E. in downtown Olympia
• Intercity Transit Route 66 East
• Sliding scale, access-for-all: $0-100 (actual cost $20 per person)

Join Brave Practice Playback Theatre Collective for a conversation through storytelling and theatre. What does “access-for-all” mean? When are moments and experiences of finding spaces of belonging locally? While the world is fraught with scarcity and division, how can we root ourselves more deeply in community and collaboration? Come experience the magic of Playback Theatre with Window Seat’s team of theatre artists. Share stories and see them played back artistically on the spot. Let’s have a dialog about community spaces.

We Need Space! a Collaborative Zine-Making Workshop 

Saturday, March 2 from 2-5 p.m. 

FREE. Ages 10 and up. Come join!

• Olympia Timberland Library
• 313 Eighth Ave S.E.
• Intercity Transit Route 64

Our need for affordable spaces to live, work, and gather is a common thread in our Community Roots oral history narratives, and it continues today as Thurston County continues to experience rising rental and real estate costs. In this zine-making workshop, participants will work with prompts centered around the importance of access to affordable spaces to create a collaborative zine. Led by local organizer and librarian, Kelsey Smith. All materials are provided and no zine-making experience is required.

Experience the stories on display at the Olympia Timberland Library, February 8 - March 11.

Project Sponsors

Community Roots is made possible through sponsorships, in-kind contributions, and donations from people like you! If you love our work, we welcome donations large and small. Please consider donating or subscribing to our Friends of Community Storytelling program to show your support.