If you have ever read Roald Dahl’s The BFG, you’ll likely remember that the BFG (also known as the Big Friendly Giant) is a dream catcher. He travels to faraway Dream Country where he uses a special net to catch dreams and put them in his dream jar. I thought about the BFG’s dream-catching mission when I heard the news that StoryCorps has arrived here in Charlotte.
Much like the BFG, StoryCorps is on a story-catching mission. As part of this mission, StoryCorps travels far afield, but instead of using a net and a jar to catch stories, StoryCorps uses a portable recording studio installed inside a renovated Airstream trailer to record the stories of everyday people.
StoryCorps, in partnership with WFAE, has made Charlotte the latest stop on its mobile tour. On April 25, StoryCorps set up its Airstream in the plaza of Charlotte Mecklenburg Library’s ImaginOn at 300 East Seventh Steet. StoryCorps plans to remain in Charlotte through May 24. During its time in Charlotte, StoryCorps will provide participants with the options of recording in-person interviews in its mobile recording studio or recording remotely using its “virtual recording booth.” Both options require participants to make a reservation in advance. For more information about booking a spot, please click on the following link: https://storycorps.org/stops/mobile-stop-charlotte-nc/
The announcement of the Charlotte stop on StoryCorps Mobile Tour aroused my curiosity about StoryCorps. I contacted Lea Zikmund, the Director of the seven-member tour team, and I asked her for more information about the StoryCorps Mobile Tour. Here is what she sent to me:
We are a non-profit oral history organization based out of Brooklyn, NY. We just celebrated 20 years of doing this work! The Mobile Tour goes to 10 different cities each year and records out of an airstream trailer for about 4-6 weeks. We partner with local NPR radio stations in each location to help us promote our presence. Each person who comes in to record with us comes in with a partner, and has 40 minutes of time to talk about whatever they’d like and whatever they want to preserve about their life. We offer everyone the opportunity to archive their recording at the Library of Congress, and some stories are also edited and show up on our Morning Edition broadcast through NPR or our podcast. We are an independent non-profit and anyone interested in supporting our work can do so on our website. We have a great video that explains a bit of it all here.
I welcome Lea and everyone else associated with the StoryCorps Mobile Tour to Charlotte. It seems to me that StoryCorps and Storied Charlotte are a match made in Dream Country.