Calling all Bloordale designers! The Bloordale Community Improvement Association is having a t-shirt design contest. Create a Bloordale logo for t-shirts and other swag to be sold at shops around the neighbourhood for the chance to win $250.

You can submit as many designs as you want. Check out this link to find out more about how to submit your original design. Good luck!

Story Planet Afterlight Book Club
Our Story Planet Afterlight Book Club meets Wednesday, December 2 to discuss The Psychopath Test by Jon Ronson. Click here to watch the author’s amazing TED talk about the line between crazy and sane (if there even is one) and click here to RSVP to our Afterlight Book Club event. You won’t want to miss this discussion!

New Volunteering Opportunities

We’re always looking for extra hands to help out around Story Planet. If you’re into design or editing, email us at volunteer@sp004.dev.contextstaging.ca to find out how you can help with our Storymaker or after school Lift Off program.

Other volunteering opportunities include:
Online Store
We are joining the intergalactic web of wares! Story Planet is launching an online store, and we are looking for two to four volunteers to take turns processing orders, uploading and placing pictures, and collaborating on other maintenance work surrounding the website. If you have experience in managing a website, and/or online merchandising, we would love for you to join us!

Reggie Rainbow – Editors Needed
A collaborative work between the participants of Story Planet and writer-illustrator Hilary Leung, the children’s storybook Reggie Rainbow is looking for some caring editors who will join the effort as soon as possible in making it the best story that it can be! To this end, we are looking for two volunteers who have experience in editing children’s books and stories. If this is you, please reach out to us!

Kickstarter Campaign for Reggie Rainbow
Continuing the support for our illustrated storybook Reggie Rainbow, the Story Planet community is organizing a Kickstarter campaign to raise publication funds! We are looking for up to four volunteers, ideally with experience and at least with passion, for fundraiser organization, outreach, and bringing the voices of Story Planet participants to fruition!

Adult Colouring Night
Looking to do something different for a change? Think you’ve exhausted all your possibilities for having fun in Toronto? Well, look no further! Story Planet is very excited to announce we will be hosting more Adult Colouring nights in December! In order for these nights to run as seamlessly as possible, we would love some volunteer support! Our upcoming events include December 1st, 11th, and 18th. Each night has two shifts: 6:30 pm – 9:30 pm and 9:00 pm – 11:00 pm. If you are interested in volunteering for one or more of these events, email us letting us know which time slots you would be interested in!

Earthlings! We’re so happy that so many of you have show interest in our Adult Colouring and Wine event this Tuesday. Due to popularity, we are doing first-come-first-serve for this event. The capacity of our event is 50 and will likely fill up by 7:30. Come early to secure your spot!

If you don’t get in or can’t come to this event, drop by our second Adult Colouring and Wine event on Tuesday, December 1!

PD Day Storymaker Workshop

We’re hosting PD day Storymaker Workshops for kids in grades 2-7 this Friday, November 13. The first will take place from 10-12 p.m. for kids grades 2-4, and the second will be from 1-3 p.m. for kids grades 4-7.

During our Storymaker Workshops, participants work together to create one super unique story as an artist brings it to life on paper. At the end of the 2 hours, participants leave with their very own copy of the story they made! If you are interested in signing up, contact Noorin at noorin@sp004.dev.contextstaging.ca to sign up!

Story Planet Afterlight Book Club
Big thanks to everyone who came out to our Story Planet Afterlight Book Club meeting last week!

Interested in joining our book club? Follow this link to find out what we’ll be discussing in December! All readers are welcome.

Hey earthlings, who’s excited for the upcoming PD day? We’ll be hosting Storymaker Workshops for kids in grades 2-7 all day so make sure to sign up before spaces fill up! There’s more information about these events below.

Story Planet Afterlight Book Club
Our Story Planet Afterlight Book Club is meeting this Wednesday! Come by at 6:30 p.m. and join the conversation about H is for Hawk by Helen Macdonald.

If you can’t make it to this month’s meeting, check out our Meetup page to find out what we’re reading next month!

Storymaker Workshop
Storymaker Workshops are back in action! Formally known as Story Planet’s Alpha Workshop, the Storymaker Workshop combines everything you love about creative writing and expressing your inner voice. On Friday, November 13th Story Planet will be hosting 2 workshops for the PD day. The first instalment will take place from 10-12pm for kids grades 2-4. The second will be from 1-3pm for kids grades 4-7. As a brief refresher, during out Storymaker Workshops, participants work together to create and communicate one super unique story as an artist brings it to life on paper. At the end of the 2 hours, participants leave with their very own copy of the story they made! If you are interested in signing up please email us to confirm a time slot.

Mindfulness for Children and Families

Do your kids struggle with stress and anxiety? Check out our upcoming Breathe in and Shine event with clinical social worker, Sara Marlowe to learn family-friendly mindfulness techniques.

This event will run on Saturdays from 2-3 p.m. starting November 14. The cost (which includes art materials, a mindfulness activity booklet, and a copy of the Sarah’s book, No Ordinary Apple: A Story about Eating Mindfully) of this workshop starts at $160 for one child and up to two parents.

Email info@mindfulfamilies.ca for more information and to register. 

We’ve got lots of exciting events coming up for storymakers of all ages. Whether you’d like to take up a fun new hobby, or you and your kids are looking for ways to help each other reduce stress, we’ve got got you covered!

Adult Colouring and Wine
Are you looking for a new hobby? Have you always been just a little bit jealous of kids who colour? Come to our Adult Colouring and Wine night on Tuesday, November 10 from 7-9 p.m. and break the taboo!

We’ve received a lot of interest in this event, so please email Liz at liz@sp004.dev.contextstaging.ca with “COLOURING” in the subject line to RSVP.

Mindfulness for Children and Families
During Breath in & Shine, a 5-week mindfulness workshop for children and their families, clinical social worker, Sara Marlowe will teach child-friendly mindfulness exercises for families to practice together at home.

This event will run on Saturdays from 2-3 p.m. starting November 14. The cost of this workshop (which includes art materials, a mindfulness activity booklet, and a copy of the Sarah’s book, No Ordinary Apple: A Story about Eating Mindfully) starts at $160 for one child and up to two parents.

Email info@mindfulfamilies.ca for more information and to register.

Story Planet Afterlight Book Club
Our next Story Planet Afterlight Book Club meeting is coming up soon! Next Wednesday (November 4), we’ll be discussing H is for Hawk by Helen Macdonald.

Don’t have time to read the book in time for the meeting? Check out our SP Afterlight Book Club Meetup page to find out what books are coming up!

With Thanksgiving behind us and Halloween well on its way, we thought we’d let you know about the events we have planned for November. That way, you have lots of time to read the book for our monthly Story Planet Afterlight Book Club meeting and sharpen your colouring pencils for our upcoming Adult Colouring and Wine event. What fun!

Atomatons App Testing Session THIS SATURDAY
On Saturday, October 24th, join the Atomatons to do some lightning round app testing. Participants will work in small groups and test the created app for 30-45 minutes at a time. We’re looking for kids who can offer some creative feedback and have a blast experimenting with technology. The workshop runs from 10am-1pm. Contact Liz at liz@sp004.dev.contextstaging.ca to get involved!

H is for Hawk

On November 4, our Story Planet Afterlight Book Club will be discussing the New York Times bestseller, H is for Hawk by Helen Macdonald. In this sad, yet humorous memoir, Macdonald takes you on an incredibly emotional journey as she grieves the sudden death of her father while raising her new hawk, Mabel.

As always, everyone is welcome to join the Story Planet Afterlight Book Club. The meeting will be held at Story Planet at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday, November 4. Follow this link to RSVP to our Meetup event page!

Mindfulness for Children and Families
We’re starting a 5-part mindfulness workshop for kids aged 6-8 and their families on November 14. During Breath In & Shine, clinical social worker Sara Marlowe will teach child-friendly mindfulness exercises for families to practice together at home to reduce stress and be able to better address strong feelings of anxiety, anger, and frustration.

This event will run on Saturdays from 2-3 p.m. from November 14 to December 12. The cost (which includes art materials, a mindfulness activity booklet, and a copy of the Sarah’s book, No Ordinary Apple: A Story about Eating Mindfully) of this workshop starts at $160 for one child and up to two parents.

Email info@mindfulfamilies.ca for more information and to register.

Adult Colouring and Wine
Good news! Colouring isn’t just for kids anymore! Join us for Adult Colouring and Wine at 7 p.m. on November 10 and reconnect with your creative side. We’ll have lots of colouring pages and art supplies, but you’re welcome to bring your own. We’ll also have lots of adult colouring books and supplies for sale if you feel inspired to make this into a regular hobby.

The cost of this event is pay-what-you-can and, as promised, we’ll be serving wine.

If you have any questions or would like to RSVP to this event, email Naomi at naomi@sp004.dev.contextstaging.ca.

Thank you to everyone who came out to our Afterlight Book Club meeting last week to discuss The Girls by Lori Lansens. We had so much fun chatting with you all!

If you missed last week’s meeting, we’ll be hosting another one on Wednesday, November 4. Don’t forget to RSVP on our Meetup page and keep checking back to find out about future events!

Twisting the Folktale

Our Twisting the Folktale storytelling workshop for kids in grades 4-6 starts this Saturday! Students are invited to join storyteller Sage Tyrtle in twisting their favourite folktales into original stories that’ll be performed in front of an audience. They’ll play fun and high-energy games, and learn about storytelling and editing, and how to connect with their audience.

This workshop will run every Saturday from October 17 to December 5. The cost is pay way you can. Contact Sage at sagetyrtle@gmail.com to sign up!

We’ve got a lot of exciting events and workshops coming up in the next few weeks for storytellers of all ages. Our Afterlight Book Club meets this Wednesday, and then, starting Saturday, October 17, kids in grades 4-6 are invited to our 8-part Saturday Storytelling Workshop, twisting beloved folktales. Keep clicking back to our blog and Calendar page to find out about more upcoming events!

Afterlight Book Club
Attention, speed-readers! Our Afterlight Book Club meets this Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. to discuss The Girls by Lori Lansens, a story that follows the lives of two conjoined sisters from Leaford, Ontario. Come by, grab a snack at the Intergalactic Travel Authority, and talk books with us!

If you can’t make it to this one, get a head start on next month’s book, H is for Hawk by Helen Macdonald, and click here to find out more about the event!

Storytelling: Twisting the Folktale

Starting October 17, kids in grades 4-6 are invited to join storyteller Sage Tyrtle in twisting their favourite folktales into original stories that they’ll eventually perform in front of an audience. Through fun and high-energy games and lessons on storytelling and editing, students will learn a whole new approach to storytelling and connecting with their audience.

This workshop will run every Saturday from October 17 to December 5 from 10:00-11:30 a.m. Cost of registration is pay-what-you-can. Contact Sage at sagetyrtle@gmail.com to sign up!

New Snacks at the Intergalactic Travel Authority
We’ve got a bunch of new snacks available at the Intergalactic Travel Authority (the café in the front half of our space). Whether you’re more in the mood for a breakfast focaccia or a chicken/veggie empanada, we’ve got the perfect one-handed snack to fuel your creative endeavors!

App Play-Testing Session
Our appstronaut team met back up recently to test out their ongoing app design project. With the help of two new team members, they brainstormed ideas for improvements they could make and wrote the following story as a team using the app. How cool! Thanks for sharing, Appstronauts.

The Big Macs
Once upon a time Gregory, the cheerful monkey with eleven children was riding an SUV with eleven seats for his eleven children (twelve seats, including the driver’s seat). They were going on a mission to find McDonalds and eat big macs before the tomato/carrots ate them ALL.

They couldn’t find any McDonalds restaurants. They drove around looking, and by the time they found one, the tomatoes/carrots had eaten all the big macs.

So they went to the trunk of their car and grabbed out their police uniforms and batons and handcuffs and then they arrested the tomatoes/carrots and put them in jail for one MILLION years!!!!!!!!!!
THE END

Lift Off!
The Lift Off After School Program launched at Story Planet last week. 26 Space Travellers (participants aged 6-12) and 18 volunteers spent time together building a community puzzle, cheering, and investigating an intergalactic space airport! What’s in store for the Space Travellers this week? Stay tuned…

With Lift Off!, our after school program starting back up this week, we’re so very grateful for TD’s generous donation of $5000. This money will go a long way in funding our free after school program that runs during the whole school year and gives children the opportunity to create, write and express themselves.

If you would like to support our programs, click this link to donate online!

Book Swap this Saturday
Looking for something new to read? Are your shelves drooping under the weight of books you’ve already read? Come by our FREE all-ages and all-tastes book swap event this Saturday and trade recommendations with like-minded readers!

Our Book Swap Fun event is this Saturday from 2-5 pm. There will be coffee and snacks available at the Intergalactic Travel Authority in the front half of our space for the thirsty and peckish!

Afterlight Book Club
Readers, our next Afterlight Book Club meeting is next week! Check out our Meetup page to RSVP and find out more about the book.

We can’t wait to hear what you thought of this month’s selection!

Now that the school year is in full swing, so is our events schedule. We’ll be hosting lots of fun events for storytellers of all ages in the coming weeks, so make sure to keep checking back to our blog and events page for events like our Book Swap, Afterlight Book Club meeting, and storytelling and animation workshops that’ll be happening at some point later on in October…

Last Chance to Sign up for Lift Off!
Registration for Lift Off!, our FREE after school programming for kids aged 6-12 closes this Thursday, September 24.

Starting September 29, every Tuesday and Thursday from 3:30-5:30 pm, Lift Off! will combine homework support with creative expression through art, writing and digital tools.

Drop by our space, call us at 416-645-1049, or email Noorin at noorin@sp004.dev.contextstaging.ca to register.

FREE App Play-Testing Session

This summer, the Atomatons worked hard on prototypes for their new storymaking app and now they’re looking for feedback from other likeminded storytellers. Kids between the ages of 7 and 11 are invited to help our app-stronaut team test out their new project this Saturday, September 26 from 10-12 pm.

This event is pay-what-you-can. Email liz@sp004.dev.contextstaging.ca to sign up!

Our Next Afterlight Book Club Meeting
Our next book club meeting is on Wednesday, October 7. Have you started reading The Girls by Lori Lansens yet? There’s still time! Buy the book here and RSVP to our Meetup event page here. We can’t wait to hear what you thought about the book!

New Volunteers
On Sunday, we held our first volunteer orientation for the new fall season. Exciting! As an icebreaker, participants wrote down their favourite story, book, or movie, a leader they look up to, their favourite food, and a place they want to visit onto a sticky note. Then, using those words, they worked in small groups to create a fun 5 minute story! The first round of stories are posted below for your reading pleasure and we should have a few more by the end of the week. If you’d like to join the fun, email Michelle at volunteer@sp004.dev.contextstaging.ca to find out how you can get involved!

Genghis Khan’s Quest
The Step City Mongols lost in a crushing defeat to the Byzantine Brawlers at the NFL football match. To make them feel better, Mother Khan took them to Applebee’s for Taco Friday. After they finished their tacos, Genghis wanted some rich and creamy Yak’s milk ice cream. Disappointed by the lack of yak, Genghis beheads the server, but mercifully spares the rest of the Applebee’s staff. To satisfy this craving, Genghis takes the entire team on a quest to Svaneti for authentic yak’s milk ice cream. After eating the ice cream, they end their day with a joyous snow ball fight.

Fears of flying and fish
Natasha’s mom- who hasn’t flown since she was 12- decides to face her fears of flying and fish. She flies to Kyoto, and goes to the best sushi restaurant in the city. She is greeted by Princess Mononoke, who tells her that it’s okay to have fears. Natasha’s mom notices and exclaims, “How we are hungry!”- and they go to get Portuguese egg tarts.

Frankenstein
Frankenstein is walking down the streets of Tokyo looking pretty sad. He’s been having a hard time getting gigs since the band broke up and his solo career started. He sees a sushi joint and decides to cheer himself up with a nice California roll and Sashimi. As he walks through the door he can’t believe his ears! His top song by The Blues Brothers- his old band is blaring! Just like in the movies he sees his old drummer, Pippi Longstocking, is playing the drums in the corner with the Frankenstein monster while holding her pet horse over her head. Just like that- the band was back together.