Winner Aaron Spangler (center) poses with John Strogus (left), and David Lasky (right)
A shout of "Respect" goes out to all our storytellers from the April Story Slam! What a night of thought-provoking stories on the the theme of "respect." At the end of the Story Slam, we had a three-way tie and our judges were pulled to the side of the stage and forced to make a difficult decision - this was our version of a brokered convention!
After much deliberation, Aaron Spangler emerged as the winner of the night's Story Slam. Aaron told the story of taking a trip to Ireland when he was sixteen and seeing a sorrowful woman singing "Danny Boy." Aaron won the prized pint glass and earned a slot in the Lancaster Story Slam Grand Slam, which is coming this November.
Carter Grimm at the mic.
We have to mention some other stories from this remarkable night. Runner-up John Strogus told the story of being tutored by a remarkable woman after breaking both his legs as a child. David Lasky told about landing on an island on Christmas Eve and being very afraid about the locals. Beth Horenkamp, who has already earned a slot in the Grand Slam, told about joy and the hardship of her profession in oncology. Matthew Kabik, another storyteller who will be in the Grand Slam, told a tale of his short-lived glory days as a baseball player. We heard two stories about learning to respect mom - from Donna Talarico and also from Bill Speakman. Emily Meola told about her frustrating day canvassing neighborhoods in Lancaster. Aaron Lewis told of a surprising visitor to an open mic night and Carter Grimm discussed his love of funions!
We had a blast hearing these tremendous stories in April. Thanks to all our storytellers, our emcee Luanne Sims, and those who judged the stories.
Save the date! Our next Story Slam will be Tuesday, May 24th and is themed "Brush With Fame!" You can reserve your tickets by clicking HERE.
Check out Aaron's story below. Our other stories are available on the Lancaster Story Slam YouTube Channel.
Cliff Lewis won the 2015 GRAND SLAM! Cliff earned the title of Best Storyteller in Lancaster with his story of winning an epic high school rap battle.
The winning storytellers from throughout the season entertained the audience with some hilarious and touching stories on the theme of "Heroes." We heard stories about a nasty friend, an epic outdoorsmen, a shunned family member, and an educator willing to sacrifice her own life for children. There was a tale of a Lancaster artist who lived a simple and happy life, and about an ill man who jumped off a Philadelphia bridge and survived. We heard about surviving a marathon, winning a soccer game thanks to an oddly named teammate, and removing a curse inflicted from a playground boyfriend.
