PHILIPSBURG, Sint Maarten – The Beyond Kultura Events Foundation (BKE) hosted its KIDS NIGHT OUT, a storytelling night last Saturday evening 6th July in the Philipsburg Cultural Center. Many children and their parents
showed up and enjoyed the storytelling program which was a variety of dancing, singing, acts skits, gymnastics and a raffle to win prizes for children and their parents.
For the last 3 months, Beyond Kultura has been training 14 adults of 18 years and older to become Storytellers. 14 Candidates have gotten a weekend workshop from 22 till 24th of March. The participants have gotten the basic skills in storytelling, inclusive the techniques of the puppet show. Teacher and facilitator of the weekend training was the well known authors
and storytellers DIANA Lebacs and Loekie Morales has facilitated the course.
Right after the training the storyteller participants have embarked on a practical phase, which started in April and last till June. Beyond Kultura has engaged 10 primary schools, 2 community
Centers, some afternoon schools and a Children home to participate in this project. Candidate
storytellers have been telling each of them 10 stories to the children. As part of their assignment
and grading the storyteller participants had to organize together the mentioned Kids Night Out
where children and parents could enjoy quality time together. The Kids Night Out was well
visited.
Teacher Diana Lebacs, a well known multi talented children book author, storyteller, drama
teacher flew over from Curaçao, to finalize the grading of the storyteller participants. ‘With this
Toon-moment or Exposure moment, the Storytellers could let the world see, what skills they
master to not only create their own stories and tell those to children and adults, but to also
organize the story and the entourage around it,’ Lebacs, stated.
The representative of one of the sponsors, Mrs de Visser of the De Nederlandse Taal Unie, was
present and was happy to see the Kids Night Out as one of the results of the Storytelling
program.
The Prins Bernhard Cultural Fund Cariben and the Samenwerkende Fondsen (Cooperative
Funds) Cariben are supporting the whole Beyond Storytelling and Expression program as well.
‘We have seen many happy faces during this Kids Night Out, and that is exactly our goal,’ Loekie
Morales, Chairlady of Beyond Kultura Events Foundation stated in a press release.
For Pictures: please see explanation by the picture number and put photo credits:
Alfonso Blijden.
