A New Program, in a Newly Defined Space, in the Newest Part of the New Year...

Open Space for Arts & Community launches Lit Lounge on Sunday, January 11. This first installment will introduce islanders to a new format of storytelling - and may reveal new truths about your friends and neighbors, too.

The brainchild of Islander Cara Briskman, Lit Lounge was inspired by similar events in other parts of the country and by programs like the Moth Radio Hour. Cara began working with Maria Glanz at Open Space to craft this new program for Vashon.

Islanders are invited to bring a 3 to 5 minute story about NEW - it could be a new car, a new job, new love, new child, new look on life, new pair of shoes, new haircut, new experience... whatever NEW means to you.

People who bring a story will drop their name in a hat at the door when they enter - and names will be drawn as the event unfolds. If your name is drawn, up you come to tell your story. Between 10 to 12 names will be drawn - and it's up to fate and the storytelling gods and goddesses to determine whose names those are.

This intimate afternoon of storytelling will have an unusual setting, one rarely used at Open Space. More Lit Lounge installments will unfold in the spring, summer and fall, with different themes for each one.

Stories are one of the most ancient ways of gathering, of making sense of life, of sharing oneself with others. Join us to share your own story, or simply to listen to others.

Lit Lounge launches on Sunday, January 11. Doors open at 3:30pm, and the show begins at 4pm. Admission is $10, and tickets are on sale at Vashon Bookshop, brownpapertickets.com, and at the door. As always, no one will be turned away for lack of funds. All ages are welcome, but the event is not intended for children. Stories may include mature language or themes.

Lit Lounge is supported in part by a grant from 4Culture.

www.openspacevashon.com