StoryCorps will provide an intimate setting like this one in its rolling studio for local recording sessions during its visit to Cache County from April 28 to May 26 (Image courtesy of Library of Congress).
CACHE COUNTY – Local residents will soon have an opportunity to add their recorded life stories to the Library of Congress when StoryCorps comes to town in late April.
The upcoming 30-day visit by StoryCorps’ customized mobile recording studio – in an airstream trailer – is being sponsored by a joint partnership of Cache County, the USU Credit Union and local National Public Radio affiliate Utah Public Radio (UPR), according to Kerry Bringhurst, a general manager at UPR.
“Now in its 19th year,” Bringhurst told members of the Cache County Council at their regular meeting on April 11, “the StoryCorps Mobile Tour has facilitated thousands of meaningful conversations between people who know and care about each other.”
StoryCorps is a non-profit group dedicated to recording, preserving and sharing stories of people from all backgrounds and beliefs.
Founded in 2003 by award-winning documentarian Dave Isay, StoryCorps seeks out candid, unscripted conversations about things that are really important in life – including love, loss, family and friendship.
These recorded conversations reflect the broad range of American experiences while helping to create a world where we listen closely to each other and recognize the wisdom, beauty, grace and even poetry in everyday lives.
“StoryCorps tells an authentic American story,” Isay explained, “confirming that we are a people defined by small acts of courage, kindness and heroism.
“The value of preserving these stories and of strengthening connections between people who may feel physically isolated is now more important than ever.”
Bringhurst emphasized that northern Utah residents can reserve a 40-minute recording session in the StoryCorps airstream trailer starting at 10 a.m. on Thursday, April 13.
Recording sessions will be available from April 28 to May 26.
Those reservations can be made by calling the StoryCorps’ 24-hour toll-free reservation line at 1-800-850-4406 or online at www.storycorps.org.
A trained facilitator will be on-hand during each recording session to guide local residents through the interview process.
StoryCorps’ mobile recording studio will be located in the parking lot west of the Historic Cache County Courthouse at 199 North Main Street in Logan.
After each 40-minute recording session, the participants receive a digital copy of their interview. With their permission, a second copy of their interview will be archived at the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress for future generation to hear.
StoryCorps has offered similar interview opportunities to more than half a million Americans in all 50 states. Its archive at the Library of Congress is already the largest single collection of human voices ever gathered.
StoryCorps also shares selected stories with the public through weekly podcasts, NPR broadcasts, animated shorts, digital platforms and best-selling books.
In addition to local recording sessions, StoryCorps and UPR will host an opening day event at 11:30 a.m. at the Historic Cache County Courthouse on April 28 and a wrap-up listening party at the Utah Theatre in May.
During StoryCorps’ month-long stay in Logan, Bringhurst promised that UPR will air a selection of local interviews and create special programming highlighting the project.
“Our partnership with StoryCorps represents what UPR does best,” she said, “namely connecting and strengthening communities through storytelling.”
The StoryCorps mobile tour is made possible in part by grants from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, a private corporation funded by the American people.
UPR is a service of the College of Humanities and Social Science at Utah State University, providing news, information, public affairs and cultural programs to listeners throughout Utah and southern Idaho.