(CLEVELAND, August 21, 2009) Beginning with the Akron Storytelling Festival in mid July, professional storyteller, musician and teaching artist Susan Weber has welcomed the opportunity to hone her skills through regional professional development events.
The fourth annual Akron Storytelling Festival took place July 17 - 18 at the Akron-Summit County Public Library. The festival was packed with storytelling concerts and workshops with Georgia’s Andy Offutt Irwin (Don’t Be Afraid to be Amazing), Virginia’s Kim Weitkamp (The Wrinkles Project) and West Virginia’s Bil Lepp, first place winner of the National Storytelling Contest (Preserving Personal History in Untrue Tales).
In August, Weber was invited to join Dr. Deforia Lane, Associate Director of the Ireland Cancer Center, & Director of Music Therapy at University Hospitals of Cleveland, Ireland Cancer Center and Rainbow Babies & Children's Hospital in several music related sessions. These included the creative use of song at the Goodrich-Gannett Neighborhood Senior Center, ‘Rock the House’ at Ronald MacDonald House and
The Council for Economic Opportunities in Greater Cleveland (CEOGC) Head Start Professional Development Day. For CEOGC attendees, Dr. Lane and her music therapy colleagues Diana Li (University Hospitals), Ed Gallagher and Tara Griest (both from Beck Center) presented workshops on 'Music in the Early Childhood Classroom' and 'Music in Caring for Oneself.'
Weber attended ‘PNC Grow up Great: Focusing on Early Childhood Education and the Arts,’ an all day seminar at Severance Hall on August 17. The event included a morning plenary session with national speakers (from the Sesame Workshop and National Center for Family Literacy) and afternoon workshops, including one sponsored by the Rock Hall with co-presenters, Dr. Deforia Lane and Bonnie Lash Freeman of the National Center for Family Literacy. Resources Row provided early childhood/art education resources for attendees throughout the day.
Photo by Susan Weber, CEOGC Head Start Professional Development Day
